Sadness Colored Sandglass
by Shimegami-chan
Summary: An epic of deceit, loyalty, and love. When a mysterious doppelganger seduces Ken and kidnaps him, will anyone even notice or care? Can Ken save himself - from himself? Kensuke, hints of Kenkaizer and Daikaizer.
1. Suki Da

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
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Shi-chan: I swore up and down that I'd never read Kensuke. And then, that I would never *write* Kensuke. What the hell happened!?!?  
Daisuke: I guess I'm lovable.  
Seki: ...  
Shi-chan: I'm gonna be killed for this one. *pleadingly* Please don't kill me, Jei-san! I know it's bad and wrong but I just can't HELP it! I LIKE Kenyako! I really do! In fact I'll write a Kenyako next!   
Duo: ...pathetic.  
Seki: You're just mad 'cause it's not 1x2.  
Duo: .  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Kyosuke No. 1," from Kimagure Orange Road  
  
^^^(This is the song that I'm listening to at this moment--sometimes it helps people get the feel of the story)  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I figured it was time for a Digimon serial, and this idea hit me in Enterprise class today. It's gonna be *long.* Also, this is only my second Digimon fic, but I think I've got the hang of things now. Enjoy! Oh, and the title is from an instrumental GW peice. Very pretty, and really works for this story, especially in later chapters. ^_^  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai: it's Kensuke. At the moment. OOC-ness, and MAJOR weird stuff to come...this is Death Becomes Him-turned-Digimon, for my GW readers. ^_~ Enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
With a sigh, Ichijouji Ken turned the pink square over in his fingers again and again. No soft glow emitted from the rose on the little crest, but he found it captivating to look at all the same. To think that he, the boy once known as the Digimon Kaizer, would be the holder of the Crest of Kindness...yet here it was, a lifeless little square in his palm that seemed to radiate joy even when it wasn't activated.  
  
"Something wrong, Ken-chan?" Wormmon asked worriedly from beside him.  
  
Ken gave the insect Digimon a pat on the head. "Nothing, Wormmon. Just thinking."  
  
"Oh." Wormmon hopped up on the table beside Ken to look at the crest. The little guy had a unique way of smiling with just his eyes that Ken found terribly interesting, and he was doing it now. The dark-haired boy held his hand flat so Wormmon could see the crest too. "It's nice to see you smiling, Ken-chan."  
  
Ken looked at Wormmon, startled to find that he *had* been smiling. "Aa?"  
  
"Hai." Wormmon's big eyes did an excellent job of expressing the happiness he felt, and Ken was getting better and better at reading his Digimon's mouthless expressions. "What are you thinking about?"   
  
Ken ran his fingers absently over the markings on Wormmon's forehead, turning the crest over again in his right hand. "Just about everything, Wormmon. My crest, mostly. And Daisuke."  
  
"Daisuke?" Wormmon's antennae perked up slightly. "Good." Ken laughed, eliciting a questioning look from Wormmon. "Nani? What's so funny?"  
  
"I just wasn't expecting that." Ken gave Wormmon a smile and another pat on the head. "Since when did you become such a big fan of Daisuke's?"  
  
"When he became a fan of you." Wormmon said bluntly.  
  
The Digidestined boy stared for a long moment at the little caterpillar. "Itai..."  
  
Wormmon's expression softened slightly. "Ken-chan...you know you can't hide something like that from *me*..."  
  
"Oh, Wormmon." Ken heaved a sigh and set his elbows on the tabletop, pushing his sleeves up to his elbows. "I don't know what to do about him. I mean, he told me flat-out that he liked me as more than a friend. What am I supposed to say?"  
  
"Tell him the truth," Wormmon suggested.  
  
"It's tempting," Ken agreed. "But I don't know. I always just have this...fear...inside. Of myself, of the life I used to lead and the things I did. I don't want to open up to anyone. Not even Daisuke."  
  
"Ken-chan..." Wormmon pleaded, "don't be like that. What you did in the past shouldn't be affecting you now!"  
  
Ken smiled softly and gathered the Digimon in his arms, leaning back in the wooden chair. "But it does, my friend. It matters so much to me that I fear I'll never be able to forget."  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
"What's up, Ken?" Daisuke wondered aloud. "You look...sad."  
  
Ken sighed and stirred his chocolate milkshake around with the straw. "Sorry, Daisuke-kun. I'm just a little distracted."  
  
"Hmm." Daisuke reached under the table to slip another cookie to Chibimon, who was waiting for any chance to grab a bite to eat. Wormmon sat beside Ken's legs, out of sight, quietly indulging in the food. The cookie disappeared from Daisuke's fingers almost instantly, indicating that Chibimon had just about lost his patience with the wait. "Hold up there, little guy. I'm running out of cookies."  
  
"Mphore pflease!" came Chibimon's excited reply.   
  
Daisuke rolled his eyes and returned his attention to Ken, who had ended up staring off into space again. "Ken! Oi!"  
  
"Huh?" Ken blinked and stared sleepily at Daisuke.  
  
"Am I boring you or something?" Daisuke asked grumpily. "I could always talk faster."  
  
"Iie, gomen, I'm just thinking."  
  
"Again?" came a chorus from under the table. Daisuke leaned over and glared at the two Digimon. "Keep quiet, you guys. We're trying to have a serious talk here!"  
  
"Daisuke..." Ken stirred his drink again, chin resting lightly on his hand. "I've been thinking about what you said."  
  
"What I...huh?"  
  
"ITAI!" Both Digimon yelped, earning them another threatening look.   
  
"About you. And me." Ken's cheeks had turned a little pink now. The voices under the table were giggling now, even Wormmon's.  
  
"Oh!" Daisuke grinned. "Sorry. Uh, you have? What did you...think about?"  
  
Ken turned his stare to the table, suddenly finding an interesting spot on the cloth. "Well, I thought about it for a long time, and talked with Wormmon, and...I wouldn't be totally adverse to...um..." He laid down the spoon and straightened up. "Daisuke, what I'm trying to say, is that I know you like me. And I like you. And I've been dealing with my past and my problems constantly, and I know that's put a strain on our friendship, and put on the back burner any relationship we might have had."  
  
Daisuke nodded, gesturing for Ken to continue.  
  
Ken caught the other boys gaze and held it. "I haven't been fair to eaither of us by doing that, and I'm sorry. I told you that I needed to straighten out my life before anything besides friendship happened between us." Both Digimon had fallen silent under the table now. Daisuke held his breath and waited. "I realized that it isn't something I want to do alone."  
  
The dark-haired boy fell silent for a moment, and it seemed the only audible sound now was their breathing. Daisuke grinned slowly. "Does that mean that you and me...?"  
  
"Yeah," Ken finally let his smile reach his eyes, just as Wormmon's always did. "I think it does."  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
"Ken, Ken, Ken. You never learn, do you? You should know better than to let anyone trust you. It'll be your downfall." The figure licked a drop of blood from his finger and leaned closer to the screen. "No matter, little one. Soon enough you'll be mine; you, and him, and the rest of those brats. You'll see more suffering than I ever did. That, I can promise you."  
  
"Ichijouji Ken...you belong to *me.* Heart, body, and soul."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued....  
  
  
  
  
------------------------------  
Shi-chan: More coming very soon, this is just the tip of the iceberg. But I plan on taking this story much furthur. Ja ne!  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Dark D-3

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: Must...take mind...off...English essay...  
Ken: So busy worrying about that, you've forgotten to study for Spanish, haven't you?  
Shi-chan: I have not! I'm just doing Biology and writing a little fanfiction first!  
Duo: I predict her failing both tests.  
Shi-chan: Hey, I write better under pressure. Otherwise I slack off. *grin*  
Seki: Yeesh...  
Shi-chan: Again, apologies to Jei-san, who doesn't appear to have found this fic yet. I'm sure when he does he'll wanna injure me for even THINKING of writing Kensuke. But is this really Kensuke? Wait and see...  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 2  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Kime Ga Yume Mitai Mirai," from Digimon  
  
^^^(This is the song that I'm listening to at this moment--sometimes it helps people get the feel of the story)  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I absolutely REFUSE to give up on this fic, and I will not beg for reviews. All I ask is that if you enjoyed the story in the slightest or would like to tell me where you want it to go next--I take my reviews seriously and am always open to ideas and advice--please leave a comment, flame, or confidence-inspiring message. Thank you very much!  
  
The title of this story comes from an instrumental GW peice. Very pretty, and really works for this story, especially in later chapters. ^_^  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai: it's Kensuke. At the moment. OOC-ness, and MAJOR weird stuff to come...this is Death Becomes Him-turned-Digimon, for my GW readers. ^_~ Enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ken-chan, I'm so *proud* of you!" Wormmon chirped, nestling himself around Ken's neck. "You told him everything!"  
  
"Yeah." Ken couldn't keep the grin from his face, even though he had an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I did, didn't I?" Wormmon's antennae flicked across Ken's cheek, sending a cold shiver throughout the boy's body. The two of them climbed the stairs outside Ken's apartment and the dark-haired Digidestined turned the doorknob.  
  
Ken stepped inside the cold apartment--all the lights were turned off, even though his parents should have been home. "Mama? Papa?"  
  
No answer.  
  
"That's strange." Ken lowered Wormmon to the floor and tossed his backpack down beside the little Digimon. "Mama...? They're not here? The door was unlocked..."   
  
The indigo-eyed boy took a deep breath and jogged from room to room, peering inside each one, expecting to find his parents asleep or absorbed in reading or music. But the entire house was empty and dark, and smelled somewhat musty, and Ken wished he'd left the tunic on over his uniform instead of wearing his short-sleeved dress shirt. The only door left open was his own bedroom. "Mother?"  
  
A tingle shot through him as he neared the open door, bringing Ken's senses to full alert. There was something in there; a rustling sound of some sort, and an ice-cold breeze rose goosebumps on his bare arms. Ken gathered his wits and stepped into the room.  
  
Empty, just like the others, but in here something was wrong: the window was open and the night air seeped in and blew the curtains askew. //Shimatta. Just the wind.// Ken walked to the window and shut it tightly, shivering when the drapes tickled his arms. Something skittered across the floor as his foot hit it, making a clacking noise on the leg of the desk.  
  
Ken bent and picked the object up, recognizing it instantly. "My Digivice? How did *this* get here?" He inspected the Dark D-3 carefully, hoping he hadn't damaged it. "It's a good thing I didn't need Stingmon around today...how on Earth did I lose it?" The young man touched the spot on his waistband where he usually kept the D-3, his fingers encountering something equally curious.   
  
Bringing his right hand back into view, Ken stared in disbelief at what he'd found: *another* Digivice! It was identical to the one he held in his left, black and grey. It didn't make sense to Ken at all; wasn't each Device supposed to be unique? His was different than the other Digidestined, he knew, but that was because of the darkness it had been consumed by. There shouldn't have been another Dark D-3 in existance.  
  
Ken's lips hardened into a thin line. What was going on? Was there another Digidestined that owned this D-3? How had it gotten into Ken's room? None of the questions had any obvious answers. Ken gave a sigh and looked back and forth from one Device to the other. Come to think of it, which one was *his*?  
  
The dark-haired boy's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice: "Ken-chan? Are you in here?"  
  
"I'm here, Wormmon," Ken finally managed to say. "Come in and look at this, will you?"  
  
"Okay..." Ken heard the skittering of Wormmon's pincers on the hardwood floor long before the little insect appeared in the doorway. "What is it?"  
  
Ken extended the two D-3s out to show his partner, but the one in his left hand erupted in a flash of light and exploded. Ken shielded his face and dropped both items.  
  
"Ken-chan!" Wormmon ran to his side. "What happened!?"  
  
"Not sure," Ken coughed. He took a step back from the circle of light burning on the carpet.   
  
As the shocked friends watched, the burning D-3's flame turned an odd shade of blue and then deep purple, something Ken had only seen in chemistry experiments. The other D-3 was a few inches away, where Ken had dropped it. Wormmon tentatively reached out and snatched the more harmless-looking Digivice away from the growing fire.  
  
The purple flames were now spewing thick black smoke--Ken belatedly realized that he should put the fire out before the entire apartment went up. Hurriedly he threw a blanket over the firey D-3, hoping that would do the trick.  
  
When the blanket didn't burst into flame, Ken meekly lifted it up to inspect the destroyed Digivice. But the D-3 was gone--all that remained to indicate that something had happened was the burned circle on the carpet and a puff or purple smoke that rose with the blanket. Ken stared. "What the..."  
  
Wormmon clicked his pincers together with worry. "Where did it go?"  
  
"I don't know." Ken picked up the remaining Digivice and held it carefully in one hand, expecting the worst. "Could we have imagined that?"  
  
"I don't think so..." Wormmon nervously backed away from the charred carpet and closer to Ken. "Where did that other D-3 come from? And where are your parents?"  
  
Suddenly the computer on the desk flickered to life. Ken gathered Wormmon into his arms and ran to it, reaching for the mouse just as a plain word file appeared on the screen. A single line of text in bold font displayed itself in the upper right-hand corner.  
  
  
----This is only the beginning, Ichijouji.----  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Shi-chan: Enough suspense for ya? More soon! 


	3. Voices of the Past

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: I'm actually getting a reaction on this story, and I'm glad. I quite like it, and we've barely started!  
Duo: Right! I'm not even in it yet!  
Seki: You're not *going* to be in it, Maxwell!  
Duo: What do you mean!?!? I'm the star of all her fanfics!  
Ken: Not anymore....heheheheh...  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 3  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Team," (Tai and Agumon) from Digimon  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is only my second Digimon fic, but I think I've got the hang of things now. Enjoy! The title is from an instrumental GW peice. Very pretty, and really works for this story, especially in later chapters. ^_^  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai: it's Kensuke. At the moment. OOC-ness, and MAJOR weird stuff to come...this is Death Becomes Him-turned-Digimon, for my GW readers. ^_~ Enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
Ken's eyes widened. "Who...who are you!?"   
  
No answer came: the screen simply went black and resumed its normal running. Wormmon made a whimpering sound. "Ken-chan..."  
  
Ken scooped up the insect Digimon and backed away from the computer, holding his D-3 tightly in his other hand. "I don't like this. I don't like this at all."  
  
Wormmon shook his head in resolution, his picers digging into Ken's bare arms. "What should we do?"  
  
Ken bit his lip. "I don't know." His head was spinning and the room seemed to be shifting around unnaturally, something that worried the amethyst-eyed boy quite a bit. He put his hand on the desk to steady himself, encountering something that shouldn't have been there.  
  
He lifted the object into the light of the open window to get a closer look. Glasses. A pair of thick-rimmed glasses that he knew from somewhere...someone...  
  
Ken heard Wormmon's voice calling him from somewhere far away--when had the Digimon left the safety of his arms? The room was getting darker by the second. Ken put all his weight on the steady chair, hoping against hope that he could get off this roller-coaster ride before he got sick.   
  
"Ken-chan! Ken-chan!" Wormmon's voice. Or was it? There was a tinge of panic in the soft alto. The voice was so familiar, so very familiar...  
  
"KEN-CHAN!" Osamu?   
  
Ken couldn't tell.   
  
"Daisuke..."  
  
Then the world went black.  
  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
"Ken! Ken! Wake up!"  
  
"Osamu?" Ken's eyes fluttered open.  
  
Daisuke's worried face came into view. "Ken, it's me. Dai."  
  
"Daisuke!" Ken sat up so suddenly that Wormmon skittered off his lap and onto the floor. "How did you get here?"  
  
"Wormmon called me on my D-Terminal. You passed out. Are you okay?"  
  
"No..." Ken clenched his hand into a fist and stared at the floor rather than look into his friend's brown eyes. "I saw...I don't know..."  
  
"Ken!?" Mrs. Ichijouji stood in the doorway, taking in the scene: Daisuke kneeling on the floor with Ken half in his lap, the former looking slightly panicked, the latter shivering violently. Chibimon and Wormmon stood stock-still a few feet away.  
  
"Ichijouji-san!" Daisuke cried. "Good thing you came. Ken had...some sort of attack..."  
  
Ken's mother's eyes widened and she ran to her son's side. "Ken? Are you okay, honey? What happened?"  
  
"I--I'm fine, Mama...just a spell..."  
  
The woman gathered Ken into her arms and cradled him as well as she could. "Should we go to the hospital? Tell me what happened!"  
  
"Dai...Daisuke and I were...talking..." Ken managed, "...and...I touched the plug there..." he waved a hand in the general direction of the computer, "...got a shock. I'll be fine, Mama."  
  
Unfortunately this explanaition didn't seem to resassure Daisuke or his mother, who had just discovered the burnt spot on the floor. "Ken! What happened to the carpet?"  
  
"Sparks...blanket...it's *fine,* Mama, I'm sure!"  
  
Neither of them seemed to beleive him, and Daisuke shot Wormmon a curious look before gathering Ken up into his arms. "You'd better lie down someplace better than the floor, Ichijouji." With some effort he managed to drag the smaller boy up the ladder and onto the bed, pulling the covers tight around him. Chibimon let out a bit of a whimper; Daisuke lifted the two Digimon up and placed them beside Ken's pillow. "I've gotta get home, and you should rest." No point in tipping the Ichijoujis off about their son's relationship with Daisuke. "If you wake up and want to talk, e-mail me, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Ken whispered.  
  
Mrs. Ichijouji stayed silent, but there was worry etched on her face. "Ken, call me if you need anything, all right? I'm not so sure we shouldn't go to the hospital..."  
  
"I'm okay, Mama." Ken said reassuringly.  
  
Daisuke gave Chibimon a pat on the head. "Watch him, okay?" The in-training Digimon did not answer, but Daisuke knew he'd be better off leaving him with Ken. Not to mention that Chibimon would be able to get what had happened out of Wormmon once Ken was asleep, and Daisuke patted the pocket with his D-Terminal inside for good measure. Chibimon moved his head just slightly enough for Daisuke to take it as an affirmative before Ms. Ichijouji ushered him out the door.   
  
  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
  
"Oh my, *that* was enough to scare you off, Little One? I'm afraid you may have some trouble in the future...after all, you and I are going to be spending a *lot* of time together...aw, poor Ken-chan! So confused, so sad...be strong...it's so much more fun when I know you'll put up a fight..."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Shi-chan: More soon! 


	4. Violet Dreaming

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: Yeah...I'm definitely floating in what I'd call "Fanfic Limbo,"...  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 4  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Friend," (AiM) from Digimon  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is only my second Digimon fic, but I think I've got the hang of things now. Enjoy! The title is from an instrumental GW peice. Very pretty, and really works for this story, especially in later chapters. ^_^  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke. At the moment. And yeah, there is definitely some actual Kensuke in this chapter. (Sorry, Jei, Zippo! It was going to happen eventually!)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ken..."  
  
"Mmph..."  
  
"Ken!"  
  
"No...leave me alone...let me be..."  
  
"Oniichan."  
  
Ken sat straight up. "*Osamu!*"  
  
He was seated in a field of flowers, violets the same shade as his dark hair, and his vision was tinted by a pair of dark glasses. The sun was bright and strong, but clouds drifted over it every few minutes turned blinding day to black night.   
  
Ken eased himself to his knees in the field and looked for the source of the voice that had called to him. "'Niisan? Osamu? Are you here?"  
  
"I'm here, Ken." The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Ken had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, as though something were terribly, terribly wrong. With the glasses on, even the dim light of the cloudy sun was almost blotted out.  
  
Glasses?  
  
Feeling even sicker, Ken reached a gloved hand up to touch his face, removing a pair of thick glasses from his face. They weren't the same pair that had appeared in his room; these were even more familiar, more frightening. They were yellow with tinted purple lenses, and gold designs between the two eyes.   
  
Ken dropped the glasses in horror, tore the gloves from his hands. He was clothed in dark spandex, purple, blue, and yellow, with heavy metal cuffs and a cape that resembled insect wings. The clothing of the long-dormant Digimon Kaizer.  
  
"No," Ken muttered to himself. "This isn't me. This isn't me." He tore the cape from his shoulders. "What's happening? This isn't me anymore!"  
  
"Hold true to yourself, Ken-chan." Osamu's voice again. Ken diverted his attention to a figure before him, wearing khakis and a bomber jacket, goggles perched on top of a mop of mahogany hair.   
  
"Daisuke?" Ken blinked, trying to sift through the new happenings all at once.   
  
"Oniichan..." Daisuke stepped forward and picked up the glasses that Ken had dropped in the violets. "You and I share the eyes of truth. As does the one who sees my form in the mirror. Trust in him, 'niichan. He beleives in you."  
  
"Wait!" The voice that came from Daisuke's mouth sounded so similar to Ken's own, a soft and gentle alto. Osamu's voice. "Who are you? *What* are you? What am I?"  
  
Daisuke/Osamu knelt in the violets in front of Ken and held a hand to his cheek. "The answer will come to you, 'niichan."  
  
"But..."  
  
The mahogany-haired boy lifted his palm to Ken's silky hair and smoothed it, twining a limp strand around his fingers. He held the glasses out to Ken. Ken hesitantly took them and lifted them up to his eye level, watching his reflection in the tinted lenses. His chin-length dark hair fell in his glittering eyes and impaired his vision, but he did not brush the strands away. Looking down, Ken noticed that he was again clothed in his grey uniform, complete with black Digivice at his hip. Daisuke/Osamu looked at the D-3, then back up to Ken, gently removing the glasses from his brother's shaking fingers.  
  
The brown-eyed boy slid the glasses onto his face and put both his hands on Ken's shoulders. "'Niichan, he beleives in you." Suddenly Daisuke's chocolate-brown eyes were a sharped indigo, the red hair a deep purple, the face more slender and so like Ken's own.   
  
"Osamu?" Ken whispered, not beleiving what he saw. On Osamu the glasses were clear and sharp, with brown rims and shining eyes glistening behind them.   
  
"Your sadness is the color of the sandglass, Ken." Osamu said. "Beleive in him."  
  
Then, as quickly as he had transformed into Ken's long-lost brother, the figure was gone and Ken was alone in the field of violets. "OSAMU!"  
  
Violets.  
  
Violets.  
  
Tears sprung to Ken's eyes, overhwhelmed with emotion and confusion. "Osamu!"  
  
The sky turned black.  
  
  
  
--------------------------------  
  
  
  
"Ken-chan!"   
  
"KEN!"  
  
Ken sat bolt upright for the second time, nearly falling out of the narrow bed. "Nani!?"  
  
Wormmon was already burying his face in the cloth of Ken's shirt. "You're awake! I'm so glad!"  
  
Chibimon was another few inches away, looking worried. "Are you okay, Ken?" The blue Digimon had Ken's open D-Terminal in his lap.   
  
The door flew open and someone stumbled in in the dark, almost crashing headfirst into the bed. "Chibimon! You there?"  
  
"I'm here, Daisuke!" Chibimon yelled, hopping to the edge of the bunk. "Ken woke up too!"  
  
"Ken! You okay?" Daisuke gasped, fumbling to keep from bumping into the wall. "The Digimon e-mailed me and said you weren't waking up and you were having a nightmare!"  
  
"A...nightmare?" Ken said slowly. So it had all been a dream. Belatedly he realized that he was still in his school uniform, but the bedclothes were kicked off and he was breathing hard. His watch indicated that it was three o'clock in the morning. "Dai! What are you *doing* here!?"  
  
Daisuke had clamoured up onto the bed beside Ken and the two Digimon. "Chibimon and Wormmon told me to come as quickly as I could. What happened, Ken? Tell me!"  
  
"He was mumbling in his sleep, and wouldn't wake up," Chibimon said helpfully. "He was going, 'samu, samu,' and saying something about violets in the desert. Then he started talking to you, Daisuke."  
  
"I was having a dream," Ken muttered. "I...don't think I can talk about it."  
  
Daisuke nodded in the darkness. "We'll give it some time. Why don't you tell me what happened to you earlier? I highly doubt you got an electrical shock like you said."  
  
"No." Ken shook his head. "I saw...I found...a D-3 on my bedroom floor. It wasn't mine. It was just like it thouhg, black and grey. Wormmon saw it too. Then I picked it up, and it...exploded. Right in my hand."  
  
Daisuke didn't say anything for a few moments. "The burnt carpet."  
  
"Yeah." Ken didn't think it's be wise to mention the glasses he had found. Instead he leaned forward into Daisuke's arms and rested his head on the other boy's chest, heaving a sigh. "I'll be fine, Dai. Don't worry."  
  
Daisuke smiled in the blackness and patted Ken's back. "I'm not going anywhere 'til I'm sure you're okay, though."  
  
"Sure. I'm glad you're here." Ken's eyes were already becoming heavy-lidded again. "Think I'll just...rest, a bit..."  
  
"Hai." Daisuke leaned his shoulder against the wall, cradling Ken against him. "I'll be right here when you wake up, okay?" When he didn't get an answer from his quiet friend, Daisuke ran his fingers through Ken's silken hair and stared at the line of moonlight striking the far wall.  
  
It was going to be a long night.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
------------------------------------  
Shi-chan: More soon! ^_^  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Sleepless Nights

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: You dared to tempt me, Jei-san.  
The Kensuke is coming.  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 5  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "If I Am," by Nine Days  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The title is from an instrumental GW piece. Very pretty, and really works for this story, especially in later chapters. ^_^  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke. At the moment.  
  
  
  
The bright sun in Ken's face warmed his body and soul, cleansing him of any remnants of the night before. His eyes fluttered open and he breathed deeply, inhaling the sharp scent of someone he knew very well, an aura of grass and sky and fresh sweet wind. He lifted his head from where it lay against the other boy's chest and blinked sleepily at Daisuke's smiling face.  
  
"Feeling any better?" Daisuke inquired, leaning in to kiss the tip of Ken's nose.  
  
"Much, thank you." Ken noted the presence of Wormmon still half-conscious in his lap and patted the Digimon's head in silent understanding. "Thanks for staying with me, Dai."  
  
"No problem." Daisuke yawned and leaned against the wall, releasing Ken from his arms just enough for the indigo-haired boy to scoot over beside him. "I'd better go before your parents figure out that I stayed the night."  
  
Ken studied Daisuke's face intently: the lids of his chocolate-brown eyes were drooping, and dark circles hung under them. A little guiltily Ken realized just how much sleep the other boy must have gotten since he arrived at the Ichijouji's. Come to think of it, Ken mused, Wormmon hadn't said a word of good-morning to him yet: the insect's bright eyes were shut tightly and his breathing was deep and even. Chibimon, still clutching Daisuke's D-Terminal, was sprawled out on his stomach.  
  
Despite his troubles during the night, Ken felt strangely refreshed and a little more cheerful than usual. Maybe it was having his friends around to help him through this. Maybe it was the tickle of Wormmon's anntennae across his bare arms that brought a smile to his face.  
  
Maybe it was Daisuke, eyes blissfully closed, face relaxed, leaning heavily against him in much-needed slumber.  
  
Ken lowered the other boy's limp body to the bed and pulled the blankets up to Daisuke's chin, tucking a weary Chibimon in beside him. He touched his fingers to the little dragon's forhead. "You two get some rest. Thanks for staying with me."  
  
Chibimon gurgled something in reply and resumed his slumber almost as quickly as his human partner.  
  
Wormmon's antennae twitched nervously and Ken turned his attention to his own Digimon. "You okay, Wormmon?" he asked, patting the insect's head lightly.  
  
"I'm fine, Ken-chan." His sleepy but clear blue eyes belied his words, so Ken pulled his partner into a gentle hug. "How are you?"  
  
"Better, my friend, much better. What say we get something to eat while the others nap?"  
  
Wormmon's drooping antennae perked up. "Okay!"  
  
Ken swung his legs out over the bed and dropped lightly to the floor, raising up on his toes to give Daisuke a quick kiss on the cheek. "Sleep well, Dai."  
  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
Ken munched thoughtfully on a rice cake while Wormmon devoured a dozen chocolate-chip cookies. "Wormmon..."  
  
"Nani, Ken-chan?" The green insect looked much more energetic now. He paused long enough to give Ken his full attention.  
  
"Tell me what happened last night."  
  
Wormmon looked worried. "After you fell asleep, Chibimon and I stayed up for a while and wrote Daisuke-san an e-mail on your D-Terminal explaining mostly what happened when we came home. Then you started having bad dreams so we asked him to come over and check on you just in case. We tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't! Not even for me. So Daisuke-san came over right away, and then you woke up just before he got here."  
  
"What happened after that?"  
  
"Well…Daisuke told us to go to sleep but I was still worried, so he said he'd wake me up if anything happened. And I guess nothing did."  
  
Ken smiled faintly. "He stayed up all night."  
  
Wormmon nodded. "Is that good, Ken-chan?"  
  
"Yeah," Ken whispered. "It's good." He drew his partner into another hug and sighed happily. "I'm okay now."  
  
Wormmon's eyes crinkled into that mouthless smile Ken loved to see. "I'm glad. But what about everything else, Ken-chan? The glasses and the Digivice?"  
  
"I think I understand what happened with the glasses," Ken explained hesitantly. "But the Digivice I'm not sure about. Maybe we should make sure you can still digivolve, before my parents wake up."  
  
"Good idea."  
  
Ken unclipped the D-3 and held it tightly. "Let's go, Wormmon."  
  
  
  
  
  
--------------------------  
  
Shi-chan: More soon!  
  



	6. Amethyst and Pearl

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: Thanks for the reviews, everybody--this story seems to be going along very well!  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 6  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Friend," (AiM) from Digimon  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'll be going away for Easter vacation, so I'll be working on this story and 'Switch,' when I get back around the end of April. Thanks for your patience! This chapter's extra long too!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke...and Kekaizer...eh heh heh...  
  
  
  
  
  
"Are we going to the Digital World, Ken-chan?" Wormmon asked hopefully.  
  
"Sure. Just let me leave a note for Dai and Chibimon." Ken pried his Jogress partner's D-Terminal out of the blue Digimon's clutches and Wormmon typed in a note for the sleeping pair while Ken locked the door to prevent his parent's walking in on their guests. Wormmon stuck the small computer back in Chibimon's clutches just as Ken picked him up and held his D-3 out to the computer. "Let's just hope this works..."  
  
The tiny device flashed and Ken and Wormmon were drawn into the Digital World, Ken pausing just long enough to grab a last look at Daisuke. "We'll be back soon..."  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
"We made it," Ken breathed. "I was worried..."  
  
Wormmon, now seated at Ken's feet, nodded happily. "I wonder where that other Digivice came from...ne, Ken-chan?"  
  
"No idea," Ken replied. "Well, now that we're here, we'll make sure you can still become Stingmon." Once more he held the D-3 in his left hand and held it out to his partner. "Go for it!"  
  
"Wormmon! Shinka!..." A burst of pink light emitted from the device and Wormmon gathered energy. But...Ken furrowed his brow and inspected the D-3, holding it at arm's length. The rose-colored glow that had once poured from the device was streaked with a purplish tint, something that worried Ken. It had never done that before.  
  
Suddenly the D-3 erupted in the odd purple glow, throwing both Ken and Wormmon roughly to the ground. "Itaiii!"  
  
Ken propped himself up on his elbows as the smoke cleared, still seeing spots dancing in front of his eyes. "What happened?"  
  
Wormmon did not answer--Ken hoped he hadn't been hurt. The green Digmon was lying on his side a few feet away. "Wormmon? You okay?" Ken cursed under his breath and staggered to his feet, fumbing around in the grass for his D-3. Then again, he realized as his hands found the smooth object, maybe he shouldn't touch it since it had reacted so violently before.   
  
Too late. Ken gingerly held the Digivice in his left hand for a moment before even realizing that it wasn't his Digivice at all. This D-3 was a pastel purple and white, stark contrast to his black-and-grey D-3. Ken blinked. Where had this thing come from?  
  
Remembering his partner, Ken clutched the object tightly and stumbled to Wormmon's side. He gathered the insect into his arms. "Wormmon? Wake up! Wormmon!"  
  
The purple D-3 began throwing off pinkish light, and Ken dropped it right away. It didn't seem as explosive as the other, however. On closer inspection, Ken noted the symbol of the Crest of Kindness glowing on the digital screen. "My crest...?"  
  
The glow transferred itelf from the new D-3 into Wormmon, still limp in Ken's arms. The little insect heaved a contented sigh and relaxed, eyes still tightly shut. His breathing became deep and even.  
  
//He's sleeping,// Ken realized. //The pink light made him sleep. What just happened?//  
Ken plucked the Digivice from the grass and stared at the crest on the tiny screen. //What does this mean?//  
  
Something clicked in the back of Ken's head. //What happened to my dark D-3?//   
  
Lowering his sleeping Digimon to the ground, Ken ran his fingers through the grass, looking for the missing device. It wasn't in the scarred patch of grass where he'd dropped it, nor near where Wormmon had fallen. It wasn't *anywhere* in the clearing. Slowly, Ken raised the purple D-3 and set it--the screen indicated that there were no other Digidestined in the area. No other Digivices.  
  
Ken didn't want to let himself beleive it. Could *this* be his D-3? It held the image of his crest, after all, and had appeared before him. "It's..."  
  
"It shows you've turned into a goody-two-shoes, Ken-chan." sneered a voice from behind him. "All pureness and light and Kindness, ne?"  
  
Ken whirled to face the intruder. "W-what?"  
  
"That's right, little one." the voice purred, and the owner stepped forward out of a shadowy portal. "You're not dreaming--it seems your heart has turned pure in the time you've been away from me. It is I who holds the Dark D-3 now."   
  
Ken's mouth dropped open. "Kai-Kaizer?"  
  
The other boy, clad in a purple and black bodysuit and an insect wing-shaped cloak, sneered at Ken. "Brilliant dedection, genius."  
  
"That's not possible," Ken asserted, but his fists still clenched tightly. "You're me. What I used to be. This must be some kind of a test."  
  
The Kaizer blinked, his dark glasses almost hiding the movement altogether. "What makes you say that?"  
  
Ken's grip tightened around the lavender-and-white D-3. "Because I'm not like that. Not anymore. The powers of darkness can't touch me now."  
  
"Oh, really." The Kaizer strode forward, but Ken stood his ground. He wasn't afraid of this...whatever-he-was. "Seems you've gained some courage while you were gone, Ken-chan."  
  
Ken refused to let the Kaizer see his anger. "Perhaps."  
  
The Kaizer closed the rest of the distance between them, stopping when his face was mere inches from Ken's. Ken glared stonily; the Kaizer merely stared at him with curiosity. The tinted glasses barely hid the dark indigo eyes behind the glassesand Ken found himself staring into those eyes. The Kaizer leaned a little closer. "What's wrong, Ken-chan? Paralyzed? Fear?"  
  
Ken couldn't explain it. There was something....something about those *eyes*...he couldn't tear away his gaze. They were captivating. Deep.  
  
Dangerous...  
  
Ken couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. And suddenly there was no gap between him and his dark-side counterpart anymore, their lips met, and their was a salty taste in Ken's mouth, as though he had bitten his lip and blood had been spilled. Hypnosis. He couldn't look away. The Kaizer leaned into him, kissing him roughly and trailing sharp nails up and down Ken's back. Time stood still.  
  
The D-3 exploded in Ken's hand.  
  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
Ken gasped in shock as the cleansing pink light burst from the device and threw both boys forcefully into the grass; Ken breathing hard and clawing at his throat, the Kaizer looking more than slightly disappointed. The pink glow faded as Ken picked himself up off the ground.   
  
"So...you're better than I thought, Ken-chan. I thought getting you would be simple for one such as me. I mean, you. I *am* you, you know."  
  
Ken took a deep breath and folded his arms across his chest. "What do you want from me?"  
  
"I want *you,* little one." The other boy took a step foward, but Ken countered by taking a step back. "And you know you want me too. My power. Your desire. Ken-chan...what's happened to you? You're not the man you were before."  
  
"No." Ken agreed.  
  
"Fortunately," the Kaizer breathed, "that makes me want you even more."  
  
"You're sick." Ken argued. "Some stupid figment of my imagination. You think I'm that dumb? I may not be a genius anymore, but I know trouble when I see it." He turned his back defiantly and walked away, intending to check on Wormmon.  
  
"Ah, ah, ah..." The ice in the other's voice stopped Ken in his tracks. "I'm easily sway, Ken-chan...what do you think of that Motomiya boy? If you won't be my soul mate, maybe *he* will..."  
  
"Leave Daisuke out of this," Ken growled, stooping to pick up his Digimon. "You can't touch him here, you're not real, and I'm not hanging around so you can convince me otherwise. Good-bye, Kaizer. Let this be the last time we ever meet."  
  
"Oh, Ken-chan..." the Kaizer replied in a sing-song voice. "Forgetting something?"  
  
Ken turned hesitantly to look at the cloaked figure. The Kaizer was absently tossing the Dark D-3 into the air and catching it again. "What's that?"  
  
"Isn't this yours?" he questioned, holding the Digivice out as an offering. Confused, Ken eyed the Dark D-3 and the amethyst-hued one in his hand.   
  
"I..." Ken bit his lip. The Kaizer had been lying incessantly for ten minutes. Did that mean that the Digivice he held was a fake too?  
  
Cautiously the Kaizer began to approach him again, and Ken knew there was only one way to find out. Closing his eyes in silent prayer he opened the Gate and let himself be sucked in.   
  
  
"Nice try, Ichijouji." When Ken looked up he was back in his room, sprawled out on the floor. Daisuke stood over him and held out a hand to assist him.  
  
"What...just happened?" Ken blurted, looking frantically around for Wormmon. The insect Digimon was curled up near his foor, the purple D-3 lying nearby. "We made it."  
  
"Not quite, Ken-chan." Daisuke took each of Ken's hands in his and stared into his eyes. "Why did you run away?"  
  
"What?" Ken asked in confusion. "Run away? Dai, we left you a note..." Ken looked at the bunk where he'd left the D-Terminal. The ball of blue that was Chibimon still clutched it tightly, nestled against a large lump under the covers. There was someone still sleeping in the bed, Ken realized. "We..." he trailed off, turning his attention back to Daisuke. "Dai...did you just call me Ken-chan?"  
  
On the bed, the third human occupant of the room turned over and hid his head under the pillow. What was with all the yelling and flashing lights? Didn't they know he was trying to sleep?  
  
"So I did," Daisuke murmured, pulling Ken a little closer. "Why?"  
  
Ken's face hardened; there was something very wrong here. He stepped forward a bit and caught Daisuke's gaze, staring into his friend's eyes.  
  
The indigo orbs shone brightly at Ken's unasked question. Purple.  
  
They were *purple.*  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
------------------------------  
  
Ken: I...tai...  
Kuri: Psycological warfare, it doesn't get any better than this!  
Jei & Zippo: KENKAIZER!?!? THAT IS JUST *WRONG!*  



	7. Seduction

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: ^_^ I'm baaaaack!  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 7  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Keep On," (AiM) from Digimon  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Holy crap, non-consentual much! When did my writing take this freaky turn? Nancy spare me if my mom ever read this...Shi-chan's off to the psychiatrist to deal with this weird 'obsession,' of hers...  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke...and Kekaizer...and you cannot deny it anymore, Jei, it's YAOI. S-e-d-u-c-t-i-o-n. *coughs*  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Violet.  
  
His eyes were *violet.*  
  
  
  
  
  
Ken bit back a cry of surprise as 'Daisuke,' wound his arms around Ken's waist and leaned a little closer, his goggles glinting in the pinkish light of the D-3.  
  
//Don't look in his eyes.//  
  
It wasn't possible. It *couldn't* be possible...could it? Before Ken could blink the ruby lips were upon him again, leaving the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, travelling down his jawline to the salty skin of Ken's neck.  
  
Wrong...so very wrong...  
  
A tiny moan escaped Ken's throat before he could stop himself, and his soft eyes met the indigo ice of his lover's. "Who are you?"  
  
The other boy blinked mock-innocently. "Whatever are you talking about, Ken-chan?"  
  
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Ken growled. "I know you're not Daisuke. What do you want with me?"  
  
  
He let out a chuckle. "You're smart, little one." In an instant the apparition before Ken was not Daisuke, but the Digimon Kaizer, minus his glasses and cape. He wore a tight bodysuit and leather gloves that he ran teasingly down Ken's thighs. "What do I want with you..."  
  
Ken's mind refused to be led on by his mysterious double, even though his body was having other ideas. "Tell me. Now."  
  
"Impatient, my Ken-chan?" The Kaizer traced a finger along Ken's face and ran a sharp nail acrodd his throat. "I've told you again and again. I want *you.*"  
  
"You're talking in riddles!" Ken snapped, smacking the other boy's hand away.   
  
The Kaizer sighed. "Couldn't you make this easy for me?" His right hand slithered around the back of Ken's neck, forcing their eyes to meet. Ken glared at his enmy menacingly.  
  
The Kaizer caught his gaze and held it before Ken realized what was happening. //His eyes....// The keeper of the crest of Kindness had abandoned all attempts to hold on to reality hours before. Now his mind clouded even further, unable to look away from the indigo pools of the Kaizer's icy gaze, unable to break the physical hold he was in. There was an arm around his waist, now. Then gravity captured them both and Ken was flat on his back on the floor with the Kaizer atop him, desperately trying to gain control of himself as him body convulsed with pleasure. Blindly he flung an arm out, searching for some kind of weapon, for someone who could help. Where was Daisuke? Why hadn't Wormmon come for him? How long had he been lying here in silent agony and sinful pleasure?  
  
Ken's flailing hand encountered a small object, cold and smooth. A digivice. *His* digivice.  
  
Or was it? Even though the purple D-3 bore his crest, the dark D-3 had been with him since he first came to the digital world. Waves of confusion washed over Ken's already addled brain.  
  
Ken didn't have any more time to wonder--the black digivice began to react at his touch with the crest in his hirt pocket, and both began to glow. The Kaizer started in surprise before pulling back from his assault on Ken's lips. His gaze flickered from the rose crest of Kindness to the dark D-3, and then back to Ken. "My, my, you're not going to cooperate with me, Ken-chan?" The only response he got was a hard glare. The doppelganger smiled in perverse satisfaction. "At least you haven't gone totally soft yet. There might be hope for you after all....*after* you and I discuss other matters." Straddling Ken's hips and still keeping his captive's shoulders pinned to the floor, the Kaizer leaned his elbows on Ken's chest and grinned menacingly. "Why did you leave me, Ken-chan? We could have gone so far. You'll have to be retaught so much..."  
  
"Retaught?" Ken gasped, trying to breathe under the other's weight.  
  
"Of course." The Kaizer looked a little surprised. "You've ruined our reputation and our empire, little one. Maybe you were brainwashed by those other children, I don't know. But I'll fix everything. I'll put it all back the way it used to be."  
  
"You're *insane!*" Ken cried, trying to shove the other boy off him. "Let go of me!"  
  
"I don't think so, little one." The Kaizer crooned. "You're coming with me." He gently pried the D-3 from Ken's fingers and raised his hand to the computer. The gate to the digital world flashed open to admit him. "Come on home now, Ken-chan..."  
  
"*No!*" Ken put all his strength into push the Kaizer off of him, but to no avail. "No way!"  
  
The Kaizer smiled and released Ken's shoulders, yanking him into a sitting position. "Ready?"  
  
"No!" Ken screamed in a last ditch effort to save himself. "Help! Wormmon! *DAISUKE!*"  
  
Then everything went white.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
---------------------------------------  
Shi-chan: *cackles maniacally*   
Seki: ....  
Ken: ....  
Duo: ....  
Shi-chan: What?  
  
  
  
  



	8. Glass Prison

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: Wrote this on an insomniac night in Toronto. Enjoy!  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 8  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Open Mind," (Koushirou) from Digimon  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For my regular Gundam Wing readers (I know you exist!) I've started a sequel to Death Becomes Him. Find it in my profile under that name if you're interested. Ja ne!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke...and Kekaizer...eh heh heh...  
  
  
  
  
"ken-chan, oh Ken-chaaaaan!"  
  
"Itai..." Ken put a hand to his aching head and tried to blink away the spots in front of his eyes. His pulse throbbed under his fingers.  
  
Ken raised his head to find himself looking in a mirror. "What the..." He touched the glass and his image did the same. //How did I get here?//  
  
The ground suddenly shifted under Ken's folded legs, and he started in surprise. He was nestled two or three inches in white sand that seemed to pull him in like a whirlpool every time he made a move. //It's like quicksand.//  
  
Ken decided then and there that moving was a *bad* idea.  
  
Carefully he craned his neck to observe his surroundings. He was in a specious room that contained a king-sized bed, a wall of computer screens, and not much else. More immediately, he was in some sort of glass cylinder, that might be suspended from the ceiling since he was several feet off the ground. //Odd.//  
  
Ken turned his attention back to the mirrored side of the cylinder, where his reflection stared analytically at him and moved in time with himself. But something was out of place with the picture--he was dressed in his grey school uniform when earlier that day he had worn only the collared dress shirt underneath, and there was a set of yellow sunglasses perched on top of his head. Ken blinked in surprise. The glasses were tinted purple, like the Digimon Kaizer's. He reached up to touch them, but his fingers encountered nothing. His reflection, however, removed the glasses from his indigo-hued hair and stared at them, breaking Ken's shocked gaze.  
  
Finally the other Ken held the sunglasses up and turned his head toward the computer screen for a moment before extending his hand toward Ken. Hesitantly Ken reached out, his fingers passing right through the mirror, and took the offered item, staring curiously before looking back at the doppelganger. "What's going on here?"  
  
"I thought you knew," the other Ken answered. "that I ask the questions. Not you, Ken-chan."  
  
Ken gasped and reached out for his double, but his gloved fingers encountered an almost invisible wall of glass. He gasped in shock--already he could see the faint image before him--his prison wasn't a mirror at all, just the other Ken copying his movements outside the glass. And there was only one person who the other Ken could be.  
  
"Kaizer?" Dimly Ken wondered what had happened. He reached up to touch his hair, encountering stiff purple spikes. He shuddered.  
  
"Oh, come on, Ken-chan, don't be so hard on yourself!" the other Ken soothed. "Soon it'll be all over. Things will be back to normal. You'll see!"  
  
In his panic, Ken's booted foot had already slipped up to the knee in sand, and Ken found that he couldn't seem to pull it out without slipping furthur in. He tried to steady his voice. "Are you the Kaizer?"  
  
"I was," his double replied with a sardonic twinkle in his icy eyes. "But now I'm Ken. Ichijouji Ken. *You're* the Digimon Kaizer."  
  
"*What?*" Ken's stomach turned to ice.  
  
The real Kaizer shrugged. "just look at yourself. You're too tainted to be anything but the Digimon Kaizer. You've reverted back to your old self."  
  
"...Reverted? That's not true!" Ken shouted, pounding his fists against the glass. "I left all that behind me!"  
  
The former Kaizer grinned. "Whatever you say...now, if you'll excuse me, I have some buisness to take care of. I have a life in the real world too, you know." He hit a switch on a panel below the video screens, bringing one of them to life. "You can watch if you like. You'll have nothing better to do I'm sure."  
  
"What!?" Ken cried, horrified.  
  
"Is that all you can say?" the Kaizer-turned-Ken wondered aloud.  
  
"Are we in the digital world?"  
  
"I swear, Ichijouji, what happened to your being a genius?" the Kaizer shook his head in chagrin. Sighing heavily, he unhooked the dark D-3 from his belt and gave Ken a wink as he opened the gate to the real world. "Bye, Kaizer. Ken-chan. Whoever you are."  
  
"Wait!" Ken cried. "Don't go! What's going on here?" Already he was sinking deeper into the sand, the white grains slipped around his legs like a living shroud. Ken beat his fists vainly against his prison, tears spilling from his indigo eyes.  
  
"Your sadness will be the color of the sandglass..."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
-------------------------  
  
Shi-chan: More soon!  



	9. And You

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: God I'm lazy. This could have been posted three weeks ago. . Sorry minna-san.  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
  
Part 9  
Also known as: "What the Hell Was I Thinking Writing Three Chapters in One Night."  
  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Party," (AiM) from Digimon  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For my regular Gundam Wing readers (I know you exist!) I've started a sequel to Death Becomes Him. Find it in my profile under that name if you're interested. Ja ne!  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke...and Kekaizer...eh heh heh...and...um...Daikaizer...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"DAISUKE!"  
  
Motomiya Daisuke sat bolt upright in bed, throwing Chibimon to the egde of the bunk in a squawking ball of blue. "Ken?!"  
  
Chibimon retaliated with a sleepy slap to his partner's leg. "D'suke! Wh'd you do that forrr...?"  
  
Daisuke didn't answer the blue digimon, just grabbed him and jumped to the floor. "Ken?" he repeated, raising his voice. "Ken!"  
  
"D'suke!" Chibimon protested with a yawn. "Quiet down! Why are you screaming?"  
  
"Ken-chan?" Wormmon scooted out from under the desk. "What happened?"  
  
"Wormmon! Where's Ken?" Daisuke dropped into a crouch.   
  
"N-nani?" Wormmon scanned the room, his blue eyes widening. "We went to the digital world...and...I don't know what happened! Ken-chan's digivice blew up!"  
  
"Damn! He could be stranded there!" Daisuke gripped his own D-3 and clutched it tightly. "Wormmon, can you tell me anything else?"  
  
"No..." The insect digimon looked a little frightened. "But I thought I heard him call my name..."  
  
Daisuke stopped for a moment to give Wormmon a reassuring grin. "Me too, buddy. I'm sure he's fine. Let me grab my terminal and call the others, okay?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
Daisuke sat Chibimon on the floor next to Wormmon and strode over to the bed. "Chibimon, where's my D-terminal?"  
  
"Uhh...wherever it landed when you tried to throw me off the bed...?"  
  
Daisuke snorted in mock annoyance and picked up a blanket from the floor. Sure enough, the little computer dropped out, along with something else. A digivice? The object was violet and white, of the D-3 variety. "Hey, guys, look what I--" he was interrupted by two flashes of blinding light, first from the D-3 as he touched it, the second from the computer on the desk. The two digimon dove out of the way as a familiar shape materialized on the bedroom floor beside the desk. "Ken-chan!" cried Wormmon.  
  
Pocketing the strange D-3 and making a mental note to ask Koushirou about it later, Daisuke ran to Ken's side and shook him. "Ken? Hey! Wake up!"  
  
Ken's eyes fluttered open and he sat up, glomping Daisuke as he did so. "Daisuke!"  
  
"We were just about to go in after you," Daisuke grinned.   
  
Ken stared at the other boy for a moment with an expression Daisuke could not read--was that lust in his eyes? Usually Ken kept his emotions totally under control, but now they were very thinly disguised. Daisuke was a little worried. Had Ken hit his head on the floor or something?  
  
The mahogany-haired leader had no more time to worry, Ken was already pushing him down and kissing him hungrily. Daisuke let himself relax for a moment and enjoyed it before forcing himself back into a sitting position. "Ken, are you okay? You're not hurt?"  
  
"No!" Ken bubbled, throwing his arms around his lover's neck. "I'm fine! Just glad to see you!"  
  
"I'm, uh, glad to see you...well, glad." Daisuke blinked slowly and stood before helping Ken to his feet. Why was the other boy acting so oddly today? Had something happened to him in the digital world? "Well, I guess there's no point in opening the gate again...do you want to get something to eat?"  
  
"Sure." Ken ran his fingers through his dark hair, sighing in releif.  
  
"Ken-chan! I'm so glad you're okay!" Wormmon nuzzled Ken's ankle.  
  
"Of course!" Ken smiled at his partner, but didn't move to pick him up until Daisuke knelt to allow Chibimon to latch onto his arm. "Are we taking them?" he asked in an unreadable monotone.  
  
Daisuke nodded in puzzled assent. "We always do. I couldn't leave Chibimon alone, and you *never* go anywhere without Wormmon or Minomon." He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Ken was acting...different. But Daisuke couldn't figure out why.  
  
"Oh. I just figured we'd want to be...alone. Fine." Ken picked up his digimon and headed for the door. "Hey! Dai-chan! Are you coming or not?"   
  
"Coming!" Daisuke replied, hurrying over. Yes, there was definitely *something* wrong...  
  
//Did he just call me Dai-chan?//  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
"Enjoy the show?"  
  
Ken snapped back to reality as his other self tapped on the thick glass. "You."  
  
"I said I'd come back, didn't I?" The Kaizer shrugged. "I must say, that was enjoyable--and easier than I thought."  
  
"You kissed Daisuke," Ken hissed. "If you hurt him, I swear, I'll kill you."  
  
"Ah, ah, ah!" The Kaizer looked stricken. "I'm *you* now, remember? You don't have to worry about my little Dai-chan any more. All you need to think about is the wonderful things we'll do when you're trained, and how we're going to take the digital world. Anyways...I want you all to myself, Ken-chan. Dai-chan's just a quick fix."  
  
"How can you *say* that?" Ken shouted, pounding on the glass. "What do you want from me?!?"  
  
"Your life." Suddenly Ken was in his double's arms, outside the glass. His legs gave out from lack of circulation.  
  
"Your body," the Kaizer continued, supporting Ken with his strong arms, drawing him close. "And...your heart. The first two are already mine. The third will be your gift to me."  
  
"Like hell."  
  
"How fortunate that I have Daisuke as well, don't you think?"  
  
"Daisuke will see right through you," Ken retorted through clenched teeth.  
  
"We'll see."  
  
"You want me, not him. You've got me. Leave him alone." Ken said desperately.  
  
"Ah, Ken." The Kaizer gave him a gentle kiss, his eyes softer than they had ever been. "You still don't understand? I want to *be* you. Lead your life. And then, I want you to love me the way I love you. Everything else...just minor details."  
  
"You want...oh, god...*why* would you want to be me? I don't understand!"  
  
"You have love, intelligence, fame, friends...who *wouldn't* want to be you?" The Kaizer moved his hands down to clasp Ken's slender waist.   
  
"Me, for one!" Ken glared at his double. "The things I did...the lives I destroyed!"  
  
"The power you had..." the Kaizer whispered. "The potential....we'll have it again, Ken-chan! You and I!"  
  
Ken stared in growing horror. "Oh, no..."  
  
"Oh, yes." The Kaizer slipped his hand around Ken's waist and kissed him deeply, his kissed him deeply, his tongue playing over Ken's white teeth and thin lips. "When the time is right, you'll accept your new life, and love me...won't you, Ken-chan?"  
  
"I..." Ken foced back a sob. "I don't..."  
  
"You don't have to worry about being you anymore, little one," the Kaizer whispered. "Because now you're me."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
-----------------------------  
  
Shi-chan: ^_^ That was a long chapter! 


	10. Talking 'Soccer.'

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: >.< Computers hate me. I knew it.  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 10  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Tobira," (Yamato) from Digimon   
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've decided to attempt using HTML for the first time since I posted 'Trusting You.' This may or may not work. >.<   
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke, Kekaizer, Daikaizer, Taito, yeah, I love having a kazillion pairings in my fics...   
  
  
  
  
  


"There's something wrong with Ken." Daisuke held Chibimon tightly against his chest. 

"Wrong how? He seems better than ever to me." Yagami Taichi, ever nonchalant, rolled his eyes at Daisuke and leaned back in his chair. "He's....cheerful. Happy." 

"That's exactly it!" Daisuke argued, pushing his ice cream around the bowl with his spoon. "He's been so weird. I mean, I'm glad he's cheerful, and surprised to see him so...content. His emotion were something he hid from everyone but me. Now he looks like he wants to jump me every five minutes, and he never so much as frowns any more, and he wants to spend every waking moment with me. He's been blowing of Miyako and Wormmon all week, and that's not like Ken. Wormmon's worried. Nobody else seems to notice or care." 

"People change when they get into a relationship," Taichi said carefully. "Yamatao has become a lot more open and friendly since we got together, you know that. Maybe it's just your influence." 

Daisuke mulled over that for a long moment. "I don't think so." 

//I thought I could talk to you, Taichi-sempai...but even you don't see Ken the way I do.//   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
"Dai-chan!" Ken threw his arms around his lover's waist and pushed him back to the wall, crushing their lips and bodies together. "I missed you! Where did you go? Why didn't you tell me?" 

"Matteyo, Ken," Daisuke gasped for air and smiled wanly. "I can't talk and kiss at the same time!" 

"Fine. Skip the talking." Ken resuming his feirce kissing. Daisuke was still more than slightly concerned, but said nothing, sweeping a lock of Ken's dark hair behind his ear. 

When they finally broke apart, Daisuke had to shake his head to clear it. Oxygen deprivation was _not_ his strong spot. "I was out with Taichi-sempai. We just got an ice cream and talked soccer." 

Ken stuck his bottom lip out. "I can talk soccer." 

"You were sleeping." Daisuke said stubbornly. "Wormmon's been worried about you, I figured you two would hang out for a while." 

"Bah. That worm..." A dark frown crossed Ken's face for a split second before returning to 'normal,' but Daisuke didn't miss the look. 

"Are you mad at Wormmon?" Daisuke asked curiously. 

"Hm? Oh, no!" The indigo-haired genius said cheeriy. "Now where were we?" He slid his hands around the small of Daisuke's back and down to his thighs. 

"Ken..." 

"I love you, Daisuke. Don't ever leave me alone again."  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
In his prison of glass, a violet-eyed captive watched the screen in silent agony.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
"What did you and Daisuke do? Should I be jealous?" Yamato placed a hand on his hip and the other on Taichi's. 

"Iie." Taichi shook his head. "He seems to think that Ken's going through some kind of personality change." 

Yamato blinked. "Hontou ni? Interesting..." 

"Yeah. I'm sure Ken's fine." Taichi sighed, unable to shake the feeling that his little protegé had been right--Daisuke usually _was._

//He's always had good instincts.// 

"...perfectly fine..."  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
"Konbanwa, Ken-chan!" Ichijouji Ken--or someone who looked very much like him--tapped his elegant fingers on the glass, startling his semiconscious prisoner into awareness. "Did you have a good day? Anythign interesting on the television?" 

'Ken-chan,' could only glare in reply. "I made a sand castle and watched my clone seduce my boyfriend. Nothing out of the ordinary." The boy inside the hourglass shifted a bit, sliding his tinted glasses up on top of his spiked hair. 

"It seems you're running out of time," Ken said with a chuckle. He pointed someplace that his captive couldn't see, under the glass curves. "You're sure to be broken soon. I'm sure watching Daisuke fall in love with me will be enough. He'll never be able to go back to the old you once he's loved _me_--you're so weak, Ken-chan! You know your relationship could never have gone anywhere! 

"Urusei, Kaizer," the imprisoned boy spat. "You'll never break me, and Daisuke will never love you." 

The teen who was once the Digimon Kaizer smiled condescendingly. "Call me Ken, won't you? I won't tell you again...if you don't submit, you'll die." 

"I'd _rather_ die." 

"Then I've already broken you, my Ken-chan."   
  
  
  
  
  
-----------------------------  
Shi-chan: The plot thickens!  



	11. You Talk Like Me, You Walk Like Me

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: *pokes all her readers* If you like this story, I suggest you read my other Digimon serial, 'In Your Shoes.' Yes, this is a shameless plug, and I just posted chapter 2. ^_^  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 11  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Tobira," (Acoustic version--Yamato)   
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is an extra-short chapter, I apologize in advance. It was written out along with chapter 12 in my math book, and I couldn't find a good place to split them. Also, it's 4:30 a.m. More soon.   
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke, Kekaizer, Daikaizer, Taito, Takari, yeah, I love having a kazillion pairings in my fics...   
  
  
  
  
  
//Ken...Ken...// 

The first thing he felt was cold. 

"Otoutochan. Wake up!" 

Groaning loudly, Ken sat up, freezing snow melting under the palms of his hands. "Osamu-niisan?" 

"I'm here for you, brother." The spiky-haired child extended a hand to Ken, and the latter accepted gratefully. Osamu's fingers felt warm and comforting in Ken's grip. 

Shaking in relief and wonder, Ken touched his limp dark-blue hair and his face in turn, glad to be himself again, feeling it brush against his ears and not missig the light weight of the Kaizer's tinted glasses. He was back in his grey Tamachi uniform, and Osamu wore casual clothes. "What happened?" 

"The only person who can help you is yourself." Osamu stated simply. "You've atoned for your sins, little brother. Do not punish yourself any furthur." 

"But, Osamu-niisan...!" Ken protested, gripping the hand more tightly. "Punish myself? What are you talking about?" 

"Your sadness will be the color of the sandglass..." 

  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  


  
Life, Ichijouji Ken had decided, had never been so depressing until now. 

The dreams had been haunting him for a while: he would meet his brother, and Osamu would warn him to save himself before it was too late. But try as he might, he couldn't escape. He had been living in the digital world for over a week now, never seeing anyone but the former Digimon Kaizer, passing his time watching the monitors that tracked his imposter as he moved through the real world. He witnessed every moment that the Kaizer spent with Daisuke, praying Daisuke would sense that it wasn't really him; falling furthur and furthur into despair when Daisuke didn't. 

"Face it, Ichijouji," he sighed to himself. "He plays you as well as _you_ do." Trouble was, that worried Ken greatly. He and the Kaizer had essentially switched identities--didn't that mean that the Kaizer had as much potential to be good and kind as he had to be destructive? Choosing between the tortures he had endured in the past week and death, death was looking pretty good. But Ken had to admit to himself that he didn't _want_ to die. 

He'd be damned if he submitted to his other self now. "He can't have me. He can't control me..." Ken whispered to himself. The purple-haired boy toyed with the idea of going along with the Kaizer to save himself and his friends. //If I die, what will happen to the others? What will happen to Daisuke and Miyako and Wormmon?// Maybe playing along would be the best plan. It seemed like the only option for now. "It seems you've got me in the perfect position, Ken," he laughed, not even realizing that he had called his enemy by his own given name. "If I don't help you take over the kingdom I lost, then you'll kill me. What's the differnce? I've done it once before. I was defeated once before, and maybe I'll be defeated again. _You're_ the goody-two-shoes now, Ken--if you want to be, me, then you'll be me. But you've got to act like me. Talk like me, walk like me, be the little angel I became when I received my Crest. You can't wield my power unless you're pure of heart. Can you hear me, Ken? You're Ken Ichijouji, the idol you fell in love with the image of. You think you're in love with me, don't you? You may have loved me when I was the angel, but what do you think now that I'm you? 

"I'm not getting out of here, Ken, unless I go with your plan. So I'll do it. Of course...I'm not the same Ken-chan you captured a week ago. If I'll never be myself again, then I'm damn well gonna be _you._" He crossed his arms with a malicious grin, already formulating a plan to keep his double's hands off Daisuke--and himself. 

//After all...no one dominates the Digimon Kaizer.//   
  
  
  
  
  
  
-------------------------------  
Shi-chan: That was _terribly_ short, I know. I'm sorry. More very very soon, already written, just didn't want to ruin the imapact of that last line. I filled it out as best I could.  
Ken: Next chapter, an appearance by Nancy, and the final couple makes its entrance!


	12. Takaishi Natsuko + Kendo Stick = O.o

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: 'Kay, guys, here's chapter 12...oivey...  
Duo: Shinesman Violet! Ikuzo!  
Ken: Shinesman Indigo! Go!  
Seki: Shinesman Emerald Green! Let's do it!  
Shi-chan: Shinesman Raspeberry Red! YATTA!  
All: SENTAI! SHINESUMAN!!!!  
Shi-chan: I need sleep...  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 12  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Tobira," (Acoustic version--Yamato) Yes, again.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: NANCY! And Shi-chan humor ahead. *grimaces* Brace for impact...   
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke, Kekaizer, Daikaizer, Taito, Takari, yeah, I love having a kazillion pairings in my fics...   
  
_**Important Note!**_  
  
_Yes, it's going in _all_ my fics for the next few days..._   
  
Fanfiction.net has suddenly started sorting fics by their release date instead of their update date, meaning that unless you're on Author Alert you may miss new chapters of stories unless you change the page sorting. It's becoming a rather large pain for me, as I read in a ton of categories and have barely enough time to check them as it is. I'm posting a convienient link to my own in-progress serial in case anyone was wondering if it's been updated. It has, as of yesterday: [Chapter 3 of 'In Your Shoes,'][1] was posted on May 25th, and you're looking at chapter 12 of 'Sandglass,' obviously. ^^;; Thanks minna-san! Enjoy the fic!   
  
  
  
  
  
_"Daiiiiii-chan!"_  
  
Daisuke snapped awake, blinking sleep away. "Ken?"  
  
_"Dai-chan,"_ The sultry voice purred, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. "_I miss you._"   
  
"Ken? Where are you?" Daisuke vaulted out of bed and ran to the window, peering out. "Ken? Ken?"   
  
"D'suke!" Chibimon protested. "What are you _doing?_"  
  
"I thought I heard Ken call me," Daisuke said uneasily.   
  
"Daiiii....s'three a.m....I dun' hear _nothin'!_"   
  
_"Daisuke-chan..."   
  
Am I going crazy?  
  
_A tapping sound came from the door and a small high voice squeaked from behind it. "Daisuke-san? Chibimon?"   
  
"What the...Ken?" Daisuke walked to the door and opened it, Chibimon bounding at his heels. "Minomon? What are you doing here? Where's Ken?"   
  
"Ken-chan went to the digital world," Minomon said miserably. "He was gone when I woke up, but the computer was on. Daisuke-san...if it's not too much to ask, can I have something to eat? I've already regressed from my Wormmon form, I'm so very hungry. Please?"   
  
"Uh, sure." Daisuke pawed at the nighttable in the darkness, finally grasping his D-terminal. "I'll e-mail Ken, and we'll get you some food. That sound okay, little guy?"   
  
"Hai! Thank you!" Minomon chirped, hopping almost effortlessly into Daisuke's arms. Chibimon joined him a second later. Daisuke carried the armful of Digimon into the kitchen, manipulating the microcomputer with his right hand and opening the fridge with his foot. An overexcited Chibimon began to raid the refrigerator while Minomon waited politely by the door. Daisuke grabbed a few packets of yogurt and handed them down to the green digimon. Minomon accepted the gift gratefully and seated himself on the linoleum beside Chibimon. "Arigatou!"   
  
"No problem," Daisuke replied. "Not often I see you in this form, Wor--er, Minomon. Why are you at this stage?"   
  
Minomon's blue eyes never lifted from the ground. "Usually I have enough power even in the real world to hold that form. But lately...I don't know, Ken's been acting weird. He forgets to feed me a lot, and he disappears in the night and won't let me come with him."   
  
"Minomon..."   
  
The pineconed little monster smiled with his eyes the same way that Wormmon did to amuse both Ken and Daisuke constantly. Ken...   
  
Daisuke flipped open his D-terminal--no answer from his Jogress partner at all. That worried him. The mahogany-haired boy fired off a quick e-mail to Miyako, Iori, Takeru and Hikari:   
  
Meet at my house ASAP. Ken may be in trouble.   
  
~Motomiya Daisuke   
  
  
  
"But, Daisuke!" Minomon complained. "It's late! Everyone's asleep!"   
  
"Well, we'll just have to wake them up," Daisuke said with a grin. "Let's start with, say, Hikari-chan."   
  
"Daisuke..."   
  
"No sweat," Daisuke assured his digimon. "I've got it all under control..."   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
A few minutes later Daisuke and his two companions tumbled out of the computer in the Yagami residence. Holding Chibimon's mouth shut for good measure, Daisuke slipped out of the office and into the hall. He paused outside the door he knew was Hikari's and opened it gently, nudging Minomon inside. The brown-eyed boy then huddled outside the dark room to wait for Hikari to wake and get herself set to go.   
  
He almost didn't see the dark shadow creep up behind him, he was so focused on making sure little Minomon had managed to find the girl in the dark and wake her without scaring her. Before he could say a word he was yanked up and shoved against the wall, receiving a punch in the side of the head. "Pervert! Theif! I'm calling the cops!" Growling, Chibimon tackled his assailant in the head, without much effect.   
  
"T-taichi?" Daisuke stammered, recognizing his attacker's voice.   
  
"Daisuke?" The older boy let go of Daisuke's jacket, and Chibimon dropped back into his partner's arms. "What the hell are you doing here?"   
  
"Looking for Hikari-chan," Daisuke grumbled, holding his head. "We've got an emergency in the digital world. Ken's missing."   
  
"Geez, sorry Daisuke-kun," Taichi replied in embarassment. "I thought you were a burglar."   
  
"No problem." Chibimon had now attached himself to Taichi's pajama leg. Daisuke reached down and pried the blue digimon away.   
  
"Want me to get imoutochan for you?"   
  
"Minomon's already in there."   
  
As he spoke Hikari herself emerged from the room with Minomon in her arms and Tailmon in tow. "Hello, Daisuke-kun. Chibimon," she whispered, glancing at Taichi. "Sorry,, 'niichan, did we wake you?"   
  
"Somewhat," her brother replied mildly.   
  
"I guess we'll go get Takeru-kun now." Daisuke rubbed his aching head again and accepted the armful of Minomon from Hikari, who lifted up Tailmon instead. "Bye, Taichi-sempai. We'll contact Koushirou if we need any help."   
  
"Right." Hikari led her friend and her brother into the office. "Let's go."   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
Seconds later the two children emerged from the computer in the Takaishi residence, landing in an undignified heap on the floor. Hikari put her finger to her lips in the stream of moonlight and led her friends into the hallway. They passed the master bedroom and paused outside the younger Takaishi's room, Hikari quietly opening the door. She slipped inside, grabbing Daisuke's hand, and navigated to the bed without stumbling over anything. But when Hikari poked the lump of blankets with a whisper of "Takeru?" no answer came. The bed was empty. Rumpled, but empty. "Where is he?"   
  
Both children froze as the door behind them creaked open, too swallowed in darkness to identify the intruder--Takeru?   
  
A shrill cry--decidedly un-Takeru-like--from the doorway told Daisuke otherwise, and Chibimon gulped in terror. Suddenly Daisuke was on his back on the floor with another person atop him, a person trying to pin him down with considerable strength. Suddenly another assailant appeared behind him and yanked him up, holding him in a headlock. Chibimon attempted to bite one of his attackers. Minomon scampered away to keep from being crushed. Hikari cried out, indicating that she had been cornered as well.   
  
Then, three things happened at once. Chibimon screamed, "Chibimon, SHINKA! Vuimon!" and evolved into V-mon, the explosion of light stunning the attackers momentarily. Minomon then tackled the light switch, flooding the room with brightness.   
  
Then, Takaishi Natsuko appeared in the doorway, waering a terrycloth robe and brandishing a kendo stick. "Takeru!" Her mouth dropped open as she surveyed the scene. "What on _earth_ is going on in here?"   
  
Daisuke got a look at his attacker for the first time. "Miyako!?"   
  
The lavender-haired girl blinked and scrambled off him. "Daisuke-kun?"   
  
"Dai? What are you doing in my room at three in the morning?" The grip around his neck released, and Takeru stood up and dusted off his pants, extending a hand to help Daisuke off the floor. In the corner, a red-faced Iori bowed repeatedly to Hikari, the older girl blushing and holding his kendo stick firm in one hand as though stoppping a blow. "Hikari-chan!" Takeru spotted his girlfriend reassuring Iori that she was fine and that he shouldn't point sharp objects at people, especially in the dark. "You too? Why are you guys here?"   
  
"Enlighten me." Natsuko leaned against the doorway, Minomon perched on her shoulder.   
  
"Uh. Gomen, Takaishi-san, we came for Takeru, there's something going on in the digital world, and..."   
  
Miyako bowed also, her face crimson. "We came for Takeru for the same reason. I got an emergency e-mail from Daisuke-kun, and I thought that the others might not have been awake, and our family has a spare key to the Hida apartment so I snuck in and got Iori-kun, and then we came for Takeru-kun, but I didn't know Daisuke-kun was already here...we were in the porch leaving when we heard someone in the apartment. We thought it was a theif or worse...I'm so sorry!"   
  
"Sorry, Mama-san." Takeru was red-faced as well. Patamon, Poromon and Upamon emerged from behind Takeru's desk and joined V-mon and Tailmon in the confusion.   
  
Natsuko rolled her eyes. "Be home for dinner tomorrow, Takeru." She lifted the calmed Minomon from her shoulder and handed him to her son before picking up the kendo stick and walking out the door. "Try not to wake up the neighbourhood. Good luck!"   
  
"I won't, and thanks," Takeru promised, watching her leave.   
  
"Well..." Hikari bit her lip. "Shall we?"   
  
"Let's go!" Daisuke held his D-3 out to the computer on the desk. "Digital gate, _open!_"   
  
The others followed in respectful silence, all but a pink-faced Iori. "I didn't know your mom knew kendo."   
  
Takeru could only nod in amused reply.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
-----------------------------------  
Shi-chan: Naaaaaaaancy!  
Duo: Nancy one! Nancy all! Let's all do a Nancy call!  
Epy-chan: NOOOOOOOOOO!  
Zippo: Sweet, sweet Nancy...  
Shi-chan: *glomp*  
Seki: *sweatdrops* Ignore all the Shinesman comments above...it's late and she's sleep-deprived...  


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&StoryID=278819&Chapter=3



	13. Jealousy

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: Ack! I've been so lazy lately, I never bothered to fish my book out of my locker when school closed and I didn't feel like rewriting this chapter. ^^;;  
Seki: That, and the rash of one-shots...  
Shi-chan: Hai, that too...  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 13  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Hook," by the Blues Travelers.  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke, Kekaizer, Daikaizer, Taito, Takari, yeah, I love having a kazillion pairings in my fics...   
  
_**Shameless Plugs!**_  
  
[Chapter 6 of 'In Your Shoes,'][1] was posted **today--June 26.**  
[Fly With Me, Fairy,][2] a one-shot, also posted today.   
  
  
  
  
  
The Kaizer was puzzled.   
  
So very puzzled.   
  
"What do you _mean_, 'I submit!?'" he cried in disbeleif. "Don't you have any backbone left?"   
  
Ken shrugged. "I thought you said you _wanted_ me to break."   
  
The Kaizer-turned-Ken wasn't sure whether to be confused, angry, or elated. "But, Ken-chan..."   
  
"I don't want you to hurt my friends," the original Ken said simply. "So I'm not going to fight you."  
  
His evil double looked miserable. "I see..." He perked up a little. "Well, then, maybe we should have some _real_ fun, now that you're _willing_..."   
  
Ken stared at the silken-sheeted bed in the corner of the room, trying to suppress a wave of fear and disgust.   
  
"Ken-chan? Ken-chan?" the Kaizer waved a hand in front of his new toy's face, quirking an eyebrow.  
  
"Yes, Master?"   
  
The Kaizer gave Ken a hard look. "You're still not over Dai-chan."   
  
"No, Master." Ken replied meekly.   
  
His double sighed. "Perhaps you proving your devotion to me will have to wait. I don't want you crying out _his_ name when we're together."   
  
"I...all right. Thank you. I'll get over him." Breathing deeply in releif, Ken tried to block all thoughts of Daisuke from his mind. _All I should be thinking about is escape. At least he seems to have abandoned Dai, now that he thinks he's got me..._   
  
"I'm not all cruelty, Ken-chan," the doppelganger said softly. "I have a heart too."   
  
Ken's stomach clenched, not wanting to pity the creature carbon copy of himself, but unable to stop.   
  
"All I want is you," the Kaizer, mumbled, as if to himself. "Only you..."   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
The five children and six digimon arrived in the digital world in a heap, in a large field.   
  
Daisuke groaned. "Did anybody get the number of that truck?"   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
A beeping noise registered in the fortress' tracking instruments, sending both Kens back to reality. "What's that?"   
  
"They're in the digital world," the Kaizer hissed. "Looking for me, I'll bet." He snatched up his D-3 and typed a command into the computer. "This wasn't supposed to happen, it's too early. I can't trust you."   
  
"Me?" All thoughts of possible escape fizzled before Ken's eyes.   
  
"That blasted worm," the Kaizer growled. "He must have told Dai-chan or Miyako-chan. Ken-chan, you stay here. I'll go take care of them."   
  
"What?" Ken gasped. "You can't! Don't hurt them!"   
  
"I knew you were still loyal," the blue-haired genius said longingly. "I really hoped it wouldn't come to this. I thought I could convince you of your own free will."   
  
"Come to what?" Ken froze, staring coldly at the other boy.   
  
The two locked eyes, indigo boring into indigo, the Kaizer's lips silently muttering to himself. Ken stared into the orbs, unble to look away, a sense of deja vu settling over him. _Those...eyes..._   
  
The Kaizer graped his shoulders, his violet eyes piercing. "Remember, Ken-chan. _You're _the Kaizer. You are evil itself."   
  
_No...don't..._   
  
Ken felt so sleepy, enough to lie right there on the floor and doze. "I...am evil...itself..."   
  
_Evil._   
  
"Exactly."   
  
"Of course." Ken sighed dreamily, unable to tear his gaze away from his double's.   
  
"Good, my Ken-chan. It's so much easier when you're willing." He gave Ken a quick kiss and disappeared in a flurry of grey.   
  
"Come back soon, love." Still staring at the empty air, Ken went to his former prison and took out his glasses, cape and whip.   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
"Everybody okay?" Takeru brushed his golden hair out of his eyes and helped Hikari to her feet.   
  
"Yeah." Daisuke stood, Wormmon and V-mon poking him expectantly. He took out his D-3. "According to my digivice, Ken's over...that way." He pointed towards some mountains. "He's not far, but the signal's not moving." A cluster of six dots represented their group, and a lone purple one flashed about a kilometre away, representing Ken. Daisuke slipped his D-3 back into his pocket and started walking. "Let's go!"   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
Ichijouji Ken, clad in his caped ensemble, watched the five children trudge through a desert, heading for the blip on their trackers that represented the Child of Kindness.   
  
_Kindness._ Ken sneered. _What a weakness!_ He hoped his lover wouldn't be occupied with them for long.   
  
A twinge echoed in the back of his mind. Something was wrong; something he was forgetting. But what? _Ken._   
  
_That_ felt strange. _What's happened to me? Why do I feel as though half my life has been torn from me?_ "Hypnotism," he said aloud. "Ken's eyes...he _hypnotized_ me!? Impossible! Why would he do that?"  
  
_His name tastes sour on my lips._   
  
Ken turned to his gaze to the monitors, spotting the familiar shape of his lover lying on his back in the sand, eyes closed. "Ken!" he cried. But before he could move a muscle, five other humans appeared on the screen. One of them, the Child of Courage and Friendship, dropped to his knees beside the sprawled Ken and hugged and kissed him earnestly.   
  
Jealousy burned like fire in the indigo-haired boy's throat. "How DARE he kiss that, that..." Tears sprung to Ken's eyes. "How dare you."   
  
Knocking the chair back, he stormed to the control panel, steaming with rage. "I'll kill him, here and now."   
  
In the back of Ken's mind, a tiny voice echoed, "Who?"   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
When Daisuke spotted Ken lying in the sand, the first instinct he had was to gather the smaller boy into his arms and never let go. "Ken!"   
  
"Dai-chan!" Ken eyes fluttered open and he reached up to kiss Daisuke hungrily, causing Iori to blush and look away. "You came!"   
  
"Of course! What happened? Why did you leave Minomon?" Wormmon had already affixed himself to Ken's leg.   
  
"I...couldn't sleep, so I came to the digital world." Ken's voice faltered. "Attacked...wild digimon. And I couldn't find a gate."   
  
Suddenly, a Monochromon appeared out of nowhere, bearing down on the group. "Shit," Ken cursed. _Ken-chan. I should have known._   
  
"Get back!" Miyako cried, turning to Hawkmon. "Let's do it!"   
  
"What the hell?!" Daisuke gasped and pointed at the digimon's leg. "Look at that, guys!"   
  
"No way!" Hikari cried. "That's a _dark ring!_"   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
-----------------------------  
Shi-chan: Not as good as I'd hoped. If anyone's horribly confused, just tell me, and I'll rewrite this chapter so it makes more sense. *cringe.*  
Seki: *giggles* There's a little detail in this chapter that's crucial for the end of the story, so small you may not have noticed it. Anyone have any guesses?

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&StoryID=278819&Chapter=6
   [2]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=331241



	14. Death of Kindness

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: Ah, ah, ah! Athena got it. So did ShiniJekka. :-P Onward!  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 14  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: Something or other from Greenwood..."Sakakurin," I think...  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke, Kekaizer, Daikaizer, Taito, Takari, yeah, I love having a kazillion pairings in my fics...   
  
_**Shameless Plugs!**_  
  
[Chapter 6 of 'In Your Shoes,'][1] was posted yesterday--June 26.  
[Fly With Me, Fairy,][2] a one-shot, also posted yesterday.   
  
  
  
  
  
"A dark ring?" Takeru gaped at the Monochromon. "That's impossible! He can't possibly be controlled by a Dark Tower, there aren't any more left!" He scanned the horizon as though to make sure. "All the Digimon should be free! There's no one controlling them anymore!"   
  
"He's figured out how to control them without the Towers," Ken muttered darkly. "I shouldn't have let him out. I shouldn't have..."   
  
Wormmon, being the closest to the Kaizer-turned-Ken, looked up at the indigo-haired boy worriedly. "What? Let who out? What are you talking about, Ken-chan?"   
  
"Nothing," Ken growled, staring straight ahead. _Ken-chan, you little idiot...either the hypnotism worked too well, or not well enough. You've ruined everything._   
  
"Ken!" Daisuke ran to his partner's side. "Come on, let's take him down! Everybody!"   
  
"V-mon! Shinka....XV-mon!"   
  
"Hawkmon! Shinka....Aquilamon!" Aquilamon took to the sky with Miyako on his back.   
  
"Armadimon! Shinka...Ankylomon!" Iori stood proudly beside his Digimon.   
  
"Patamon! Shinka...Angemon!"   
  
Hikari held her pink D-3 to the sky. "Degimental...UP!"   
  
Her partner responded to the call. "Tailmon! Armour shinka...Hohoemi no Hikari!* Nefertimon!"   
  
The two original Chosen stood back as their Digimon took flight above the Monochromon. Daisuke looked at Ken expectantly. "What about Stingmon?"   
  
Ken watched coolly as Angemon delivered a Heaven's Knuckle, sending the Monochromon flying. "Don't need to. He's already weakened."   
  
Wormmon pouted as best he could, with his eyes. "But, Ken-chan...I want to help..."   
  
"No."   
  
The Monochromon let out a roar and began to glow, the ring on his leg practically pulsating. "He's evolving again!" Miyako screamed.   
  
Without a Digivice or partner, the Monochromon grew and assumed the shape of a Vermillimon, red and white with thick-looking armour. The ring on his leg metamorphed into a spiral.   
  
Ken seethed silently. _He learns fast._   
  
Looking a little unsettled, Nefertimon landed quietly beside her partner and let the energy drain out of her, becoming Tailmon once more. Hikari didn't need to speak, just held out her D-3.   
  
"Tailmon! Chou-shinka...Angewomon!"   
  
Catching on, Takeru held up his D-3 as well. "Angemon! Chou-shinka...HolyAngemon!"   
  
"We'll handle this!" Hikari cried, clutching Takeru's hand.   
  
"Holy Arrow!" Angewomon cried, throwing a blast of light at the Vermillimon. It had no effect, as did HolyAngemon's blows. "Hikari! This isn't working!"   
  
Aquillamon, Ankylomon, and XV-mon tried their own attacks, without much success. "We need Paildramon!" Daisuke shouted, looking at Ken. "Come on, Ichijouji! Let's Jogress!"   
  
Ken looked torn. "I...I guess so..."   
  
_What's wrong with him?_ Daisuke's attention was diverted by the glow of Vermillimon changing shape--again. "It's going mega!"   
  
The Vermillimon evolved into a Rosemon before the group's shocked eyes. "That's not _possible!_" Miyako screamed. "Someone must be controlling it! Could it be another Dark Tower Digimon?"   
  
"I don't know! It can't have been running around for this long on its own, Archnemon's long gone!" Takeru pulled his parter's energy back into his D-3, devolving back to Angemon. "Jogress!"   
  
"Right!"   
  
"Angemon!"   
  
"Ankylomon!"   
  
_"Jogress shinka!_"   
  
"Shakkoumon!" The metallic Digimon flew up to face Rosemon.   
  
"Roses Rapier!"   
  
Shakkoumon absorbed the attack and shot it back at the Mega-level enemy. "She's too powerful!"   
  
Meanwhile, Hikari had called her Digimon back to Champion stage once again. "Miyako! Let's go!"   
  
"Aquillamon!"   
  
"Tailmon!"   
  
_"Jogress shinka!"_   
  
"Silphymon!" The feathered Digimon rose above its enemy. "Top Gun!"   
  
Daisuke shot a pained look at his koibito. "Come _on,_ Ken!"   
  
_I could try,_ Ken reasoned. "Fine. Wormmon?"   
  
His insect partner nodded. Ken unclipped the Dark D-3 from his belt.   
  
"Wormmon! Shinka...!"   
  
Nothing happened. The Digivice did not react.   
  
"Ichijouji-san!" Iori called. "What's wrong?"   
  
_Dammit! I should have known this wouldn't work! This is all Ken-chan's fault!_ "I don't know!" he replied. "My D-3's not working!"   
  
Rosemon was pummeling Shakkoumon and Silphymon mercilessly. Miyako screamed as her Digimon fell to the ground. "Daisuke-kun! Ken-kun! We need Imperialdramon, fast!"   
  
Ken felt dizzy and detached, watching the unfolding battle. "I can't..."   
  
"What's wrong? Ken!" Daisuke cried.   
  
"Ken-chan!" Wormmon hugged his partner's leg fretfully. Ken kicked the caterpillar away. Wormmon lay unmoving for a minute, tears springing to his soft blue eyes. "Ken-chan?"   
  
"Idiot! What did you do that for?" Daisuke pushed Ken away and ran to Wormmon's side. "Are you okay? Wormmon?"   
  
The voices rose in pitch, closing over Ken's consciousness. "Idiot, idiot, idiot! Ken-chan no baka!" He began to laugh hauntingly, gaining the attention of the other five Chosen. "Pitiful, pathetic _fools!_ All of you!"   
  
"What are you talking about?" Hikari asked nervously, holding Plotmon tight. "Ichijouji-kun..."   
  
"You're all _idiots!_" Ken spat, clenching his fists. "_Him_ most of all! Get away from me!" He slapped Daisuke's comforting hand away. "If it's not going to be perfect, than I don't want it! I'll destroy all of you and start over! Just us, and I can make it all the way it was before!" In the blink of an eye he was once again clothed as the Digimon Kaizer, complete with cape and glasses.   
  
"He's flipped!" Miyako clutched Pururumon in both hands.   
  
Takeru ran to Hikari's side with Tokomon in tow. "Shakkoumon's down! We've got nothing left to work with except XV-mon!" Said Digimon was carefully avoiding Rosemon's Thorn Whip attack, shooting X-Lasers at her from the ground. The Mega-level Digimon avoided most of them easily.   
  
Ken cackled maniacally. "It's been nice knowing you guys." He pulled Daisuke to him and kissed him hard on the lips, tongue probing the other boy's mouth.   
Daisuke wrenched away. "Ken! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"   
  
"Especially you, Dai-chan. Bye, now!" He cast a glance up into the sky. "Rosemon! Kill them, don't let any of them escape!"   
  
"_Ken!_" Daisuke grabbed for his friend's arm.   
  
The Kaizer grinned and smiled at Daisuke before waving his hand in the air. A dark portal appeared behind the dark-haired boy, wavering and sparking with malicious energy. "It's been fun."   
  
With that, he stepped backwards and disappeared.   
  
Miyako screamed.   
  
XV-mon cried out in pain.   
  
And Motomiya Daisuke's right jacket pocket exploded, throwing him to the ground.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
------------------------------------  
  
*'Hohoemi no Hikari,' means 'Smile's Light.' Arigatou, Athena-san! And arigatou to Zippo-kun for the tagline order fix. ^_^   
  
Shi-chan: That was a fairly tedious chapter; I had to look up info on attacks, Japanese names, etc etc etc. If anybody's wondering, Vermillimon actually does evolve to Rosemon, as do Lillymon and LadyDevimon. Thanks to [Megchan][3] for the helpful info. I had to watch my halfway-buffered RealPlayer version of episode 49 to see if Tailmon actually says 'Chou-shinka,' which she does. Pretty neat. Hmm.  
Seki: More soon. But not tonight. ^^;; Looks like this story's coming to a close soon...  
Duo: R&R, please, minna-san! Arigatou!  


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&StoryID=278819&Chapter=6
   [2]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=331241
   [3]: http://www.megchan.com/digimon



	15. Who's Who?

Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: One more chapter to go!  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 15  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke, Kekaizer, Daikaizer, Taito, Takari, yeah, I love having a kazillion pairings in my fics...   
  
_**Shameless Plugs!**_  
  
['In Your Shoes,'][1] is now **complete!**  
[Weight on the Heart,][2] a Kenyako in progress by a friend of mine. Please R&R? Onegai shimasu?   
  
  
  
  
  
"He was a traitor all along," Iori said bitterly. "And we _trusted_ him."   
  
"We were so stupid," Miyako whispered.   
  
_This can't be...I don't beleive it!_ Daisuke sat shaking on the ground, Wormmon in his lap. "I don't. I _can't._"   
  
"Can't what?" Hikari questioned, tears spilling from her eyes onto Plotmon's unconscious form.   
  
"Can't beleive it," Daisuke replied quietly, rage showing in his nomally soft brown eyes. "I _won't!_" The last words came out as a scream as light began to pour out of his D-3. It glowed strangely purple; looking more closely at the device the mahogany-haired boy discovered that the Crest of Kindness was emblazoned on the screen. The energy poured out of the D-3 and into XV-mon.   
  
The dragon Digimon immediately took advantage of the newfound power. "_X-Laser!_"   
  
Rosemon shrieked as the blast hit her before falling to the ground and devolving back into Gotsumon. The spiral on its leg shattered and broke apart.   
  
A tired XV-mon returned to his Chibimon stage, tackling Daisuke in an exhausted hug. "Daaaisuke! We did it!"   
  
"You did it, little guy!" Daisuke chuckled, hugging his partner. "Great job."   
  
The other Chosen were not so enthusiastic. Miyako was in tears and Hikari on the brink once again. Iori looked angry. Takeru's face was solemn. "One victory...and one more enemy," he said softly.   
  
"Ken's not an enemy!" Daisuke retorted. "He's, he's..."   
  
"I'm sorry, Dai." Takeru's blue eyes met Daisuke's brown ones. "He said it himself. He's been playing us all along."   
  
"But that's _impossible!_" Daisuke cried. "He fought with us! He used his Crest with us! Something must have happened to _make_ him be this way again, it can't have been true all along!"   
  
Miyako's sobs rose in pitch as Iori tried to comfort her.   
  
"Daisuke-san," snapped the younger boy, "it's obvious that he's been tricking us. Look at the damage he's done--not just in the past, but look what he's done to _us!_ He's destroyed our team, maybe forever! I can't forgive that!"   
  
"Ken...why..." Miyako whispered brokenly.   
  
"Look what he's done to his best friends," Iori spat. "Miyako-san. You. It was cruel."   
  
"I can't." Daisuke said quietly, picking up Chibimon and Wormmon. "I can't let him go. I...I love him."   
  
Silence took the clearing. Even Miyako's ragged breathing slowed.   
  
Daisuke almost choked on the words. "And I _will not let him go._"   
  
With that, he turned and ran into the forest.   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
The Kaizer stormed into the control room, seething with rage. "Ken-chan!" he screamed.   
  
No answer.   
  
"_Dammit!_" the caped ruler yelled at the empty room. "You've ruined it all!" He threw his D-3 with a clatter to the ground. The thing had been useless on Wormmon, as it no longer held Kindness' power.   
  
"Blast." he said aloud. _Where did Ken-chan's Digivice go? I'd forgotten about it...damn!_ He snatched up the Dark D-3 and thumbed a button. Six dots registered on the screen. _One of those brats must have it._ Two dots moved away from the other four; making them easier targets, but the bigger group was closer and moving his way. He summoned an Airdramon with a few computer commands, wishing he'd thought to take Ken-chan's annoying Digimon with him. The worm was actually of assistance, when he kept his mouth shut.   
  
With a loud cackle, the Kaizer tucked his Dark D-3 away. He could handle them, all of them. He just had to destroy the other Chosen, find Ken, and then reconfigure the Digital World. Easy, right? After all, he was a genius. He was better than _all_ of them.   
  
_You hear that, Ken-chan? Better than you!_   
  
The only reply was the humming of the computers and his own ragged breathing.   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
  
Ken tore through the forest on the back of a ringed Flymon, scanning the ground below for any sign of the Chosen.   
  
He was determined to find the Child of Courage and Friendship. And do...what?   
  
_Kill him,_ the indigo-haired boy thought to himself. _He kissed my Ken-chan._   
  
Yours?   
  
"Mine," Ken said aloud.   
  
His voice shook with indecision.   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
  
Daisuke ran through the underbrush, thoughts in such a blur that he really didn't know where he was going. All he knew was that he was heading _away_ from the others, _away_ from the problem.   
  
Away from Ken.   
  
"Courage."   
  
The icy voice made Daisuke's blood run cold. "Ken."   
  
Above, the Kaizer rode on the back of a Flymon, scowling down at him. "Don't call me that."   
  
Daisuke raised his fist, wordlessly challenging Ken to jump to the ground. "What happened? Were you really tricking us all along?"   
  
The Kaizer rolled his eyes and stood tall before Daisuke, still managing to looked bored for his enemy's sake. "Of course, you idiot. And don't think I won't forgive you for what you did."   
  
"What _I _did?" Daisuke replied incredulously.   
  
"You kissed him." the Kaizer finally met Daisuke's gaze, his tone deadly.   
  
"I...what?" Daisuke's head spun. "Who?"   
  
"You..."   
  
"Ken-chan?" Wormmon asked nervously. "Are you okay?"   
  
Daisuke kept staring at Ken's confused violet eyes, the pupils dilating and contracting as he was overcome with thought. "K-Ken?"   
  
"What's your name, Chosen?" the Kaizer asked, his voice unsteady.   
  
"M-Motomiya Daisuke?"   
  
"You commited a great crime, you caused me pain. He made me forget. I want...no, I _need_ to know what you did to me. Why was I forced to abandon memory of you? What did you do to me?"   
  
Hoarsely Daisuke stammered out the words that struck the final blow. "I loved you."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
--------------------------------  
Shi-chan: *sings* Alllllmost ooooover!

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&StoryID=278819
   [2]: http://www.members.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=349174



	16. Mysterious Eyes

Digimon belongs to Toei! *sob*   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: As promised, here's the next chapter! ^_^  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 16  
~By Shimegami-chan  
Music: "Sore ga Kizuna no Tsuyosa," from Violinist of Hameln  
  
Warnings: Kensuke! Yay! And just a touch of profane language in this chapter. ^^;;   
  
  
  
  
  
"You...I..." Ken blinked incredoulously at Daisuke, the words not quite sinking in. "You're _chosen._"   
  
"So are you," Daisuke replied, his hands unsteady. "Well, you _were_..."   
  
"Impossible." The words came out in a gasp of relief and he put his hand to his right hip, encountering nothing. "It doesn't matter!" the wild-eyed boy shouted at last. "You're going to die for this! I _need_ him, and you're trying to take him away, you sick, twisted bastard!"   
  
Daisuke's eyes narrowed. _"Who the hell are you talking about?"_   
  
"_Ken!_" the fallen emperor screamed, his voice raw with fury and pain. "Ken..."   
  
Chibimon and Wormmon huddled together on the ground, watching in horror as the Kaizer shrieked, tears coursing freely down his face. The pocket of Daisuke's bomber jacket again began to glow, the D-3 inside throwing off an eerie violet light, reacting to the Kaizer's anguish.   
  
The Kaizer dropped to his knees, gloved fingers tearing at his hair. "Ken...Ken...you can't...yamero, yamero, he's _mine!_ He's mine! He's me! You can't...I am the Digimon K-K-Kai..." he trailed off, blinking away tears of frustration before staggering to his feet and fixing his gaze on Daisuke. "I...I..." He gasped, his mouth dropping open in shock once again. "Your sadness will be the color of the sandglass..."   
  
"What?" Daisuke's voice trembled as he locked eyes with the frenzied dictator.   
  
"Sadness...that's it!" He jumped at Daisuke and landed full on the boy's torso, pinning his arms down with gloved hands. "That was the key! He said I had to trust...trust you, because you share the eyes of truth. You were the one with his voice!"   
  
Daisuke struggled, but even the slight weight was placed too heavily on his stomach. "Whose voice? What are you talking about?"   
  
"My brother," the Kaizer said seriously. He placed his knee on Daisuke's elbow to hold the mahogany-haired boy down and removed the sunglasses with his free hand, flinging them several feet away. "My brother told me in a dream to trust the one who wore his face. And he looked just like you. I was forced to forget you, Motomiya Daisuke; you who claim to love me and who dared to kiss my Ken! Why should I trust you? Why are you here? _Who am I?_"   
  
Daisuke stared into the Kaizer's clear violet eyes. "Ichijouji Ken. The twelfth Chosen Child, Kindness."   
  
The deep purple orbs went blank for a moment and then returned to clarity, staring at Daisuke's determined face. He then leaned in and kissed Daisuke fully on the lips, releasing the hold on his arms, the kiss desperate and forceful all at once. Daisuke responded in kind, deepening the kiss. his eyes instinctively closing. Wormmon and Chibimon stared on in shock, the latter having been poised to attack Ken and save his partner.   
  
After a long moment Ken pulled away, his breathing ragged. "D-Dai-chan..."   
  
"Ken!" Daisuke cried joyfully, pulling Ken close for a relieved hug. "Are you okay?"   
  
"Y-yeah..." Ken stammered, shaking his head to clear it. "I think so. Just a little confused." He moved to Daisuke's side and the bearer of Courage wrapped him in another hug. "Where's...where's the Kaizer?"   
  
"Gone, Ken. You won."   
  
"No!" Ken shot to his feet, reaching for the D-3 that wasn't there. "No, you don't understand! He was the one that did that to me! I remember looking into his eyes and then when I woke up, I was looking at you! He's got to be here...he, he's got my D-3!"   
  
"Wait! Ken, is this yours? It seemed to react to you." Daisuke fished the lavender-and-white D-3 out of his pocket and handed it to Ken.   
  
"Yes! Yes, this is mine, I think. But he...the Kaizer...he's got the Dark D-3, my old one! I dropped it in the Digital World and then found this one while I was looking for it. I don't know where it came from...I thought that maybe the Black D-3 turned into this, because it has my Crest." Ken held it out so Daisuke could see the pink rose on the screen.   
  
"That's...wait, the Kaizer _did_ have a Black D-3 when he tried to make Wormmon evolve! You mean that wasn't you?!"   
  
"What? He tried to make you evolve?" Ken's stare turned to his partner.   
  
"It didn't work," Wormmon assured him. "I guess because I'm not his partner anymore. But, Ken-chan, maybe the Digital World gave you the nice D-3 because you're not controlled anymore." Wormmon suggested happily, nuzzling against Ken's ankle. Ken knelt and gathered the insect into his arms.   
  
"And then, it gave the bad one to the Kaizer!" Chibimon added in excitement.   
  
"You might be right, but that doesn't explain how the Kaizer is still _existing._" Daisuke replied. "Where _is_ the Kaizer?"   
  
Ken selected 'detect' on his Digivice, but he only picked up six signals. "I'm not getting him. Of course, the Black D-3's signal can be muted. We'll have to look for him on foot."   
  
"We should find the others first," Daisuke suggested.   
  
"Right. What say we test this thing out?" Ken grinned and held out his Digivice.   
  
"_Wormmon! Shinka....! Stingmon!""   
  
_"I'm with you, Ichijouji!" Daisuke grinned at Chibimon. "You think you can go to XV-Mon one more time?"   
  
"Are you kidding? _Chibimon shinka, V-mon! V-mon shinkaaaa...XV-Mon!_ XV-Mon!"   
  
"Stingmon!"   
  
_"Jogress shinka...Paildramon! Chou-shinka! Imperialdramon!"_   
  
Daisuke grinned. "You ready?"   
  
Ken clasped his Jogress partner's hand. "Let's go!"   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
-----------------------------------  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Like this story? Deprived of AuthorAlerts? Want to know when it'll be updated? [E-mail][1] me or leave me a review!  
-----------------------------------  
  
Shi-chan: Yay! One more chapter to go!  
Seki: Thank God!  
Duo: Write more about me!  
Conan: Or me!  
Shi-chan: Conan? Since when are _you_ a muse?  
Conan: Tsk! When you started writing in my category, that's when!  
Seki, Duo and Ken: ...doesn't she have _enough_ muses already!?  
Shi-chan: Not like any of you ever actually help me!

   [1]: mailto:duoxheero@dragonball-gt.zzn.com



	17. You Or Someone Just Like You

Digimon belongs to Toei! *sob*   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: After a lengthly wait...here you go!  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 17  
~By Shimegami-chan  
  
Warnings: Kensuke! Yay! And just a touch of profane language in this chapter. ^^;;   
  
  
  
  
  
The remaining four Chosen Children trudged through the desert on foot; too angry and saddened to speak, and too afraid to split up.   
  
Takeru, the only one of the four making a conscious effort, cuddled Tokomon close to his chest and yelled, "Daiiiiiiiisuke!"   
  
The only answer was the beating of the hot sun upon their backs.   
  
"We should go back and rest, and then come back for Daisuke," Iori suggested.   
  
Takeru frowned. It wasn't like his Jogress partner at all to suggest leaving a teammate defenseless in the Digital World, especially if he and the Kaizer found each other. Upamon's sombre expression mirrored his partner's.   
  
Plotmon had been able to evolve into Tailmon almost immediately after the heated battle, and was currently following Daisuke's scent--or what she and Hikari _hoped_ was Daisuke's scent. The trail led directly into the darkened forest; and the sun was already beginning to set.   
  
"Daisuke! Ken!" Miyako called loudly, her voice wavering.   
  
"Right here," a familiar voice said smoothly, his body melting out of the shadows.   
  
"Ken!" Iori's eyes narrowed and Tailmon ran to Hikari's side.   
  
"Sorry about my little breakdown there, Destined." Ken sneered, crossing his arms. "I think I've given you enough time to get away, so it looks like I'll have to dispose of you myself."   
  
Miyako cast her gaze nervously around before looking at her Jogress partner's digimon. "What about Daisuke? We can't leave without him!"   
  
Tailmon stood between her and Hikari, snarling at the Kaizer. "I don't know, Miyako. Daisuke went into the forest. He might be lost--or Ken might have already gotten him."   
  
Takeru set Tokomon down. "Are you in any shape to fight, little buddy?"   
  
"Sure thing!" Tokomon bared his teeth at Ken in a grotesque smile before leaping forward and latching onto the traitor's arm.   
  
"Tokomon!" Takeru groaned. "That wasn't what I meant!"   
  
"An opening." Miyako smiled. "Just what we needed. Hawkmon?"   
  
The pink bird bounced out of his partner's arms. _"Pururumon shinka...Hawkmon!"   
  
"Upamon shinka...Armadimon!"_   
  
The Kaizer let out a shriek, trying to pry Tokomon's fangs out of his arm. "_Takaishi, you bastard!_" Tokomon refused to let go.   
  
"Feather Slash!" Hawkmon sliced his attack across the Kaizer's pale cheek. He howled in pain.   
  
"Cat Punch!" Tailmon knocked the former ruler down hard, giving Tokomon a chance to unclamp his jaws and bolt back to Takeru's side. _"Tokomon shinka...Patamon! Air Shot!"_ The tiny attack exploded against the side of the Kaizer's face.   
  
The Digimon regrouped with their Chosen behind them, Miyako resuming her whispered conversation. "Should we try to escape?"   
  
"Kind of different without our 'leader' here, isn't it?" Hikari said grimly.   
  
"You never miss Daisuke till he's gone," Takeru replied.   
  
"Prepare to die, Chosen." the Kaizer hissed, drawing out a small black bag.   
  
"What can you do, coward?" Iori shouted. "You have no Digimon!"   
  
"I don't need one. I could kill you with my bare hands...but I'll settle for obliterating the Digital World."   
  
"Bastard!" Hikari hissed. Takeru clenched his teeth.   
  
Miyako glared. "Impossible, you can't do that."   
  
"Can't I?" The Kaizer grinned ferally. "Who do you think _created_ the Digital World?" He gripped his Digivice in one hand, deliberately pressing several buttons until the device began to emit short beeping sounds. "I can reformat it any time I want to."   
  
Miyako poised her body as though she intended to jump the Kaizer and knock him senseless. "We won't let you."   
  
Hikari added, "It's four against one, you can't win."   
  
"Four..." the Kaizer said slowly. His face split into a grin. "And where's your Dai-chan?"   
  
None of the children answered.   
  
The Kaizer's grin turned malicious. "Ah! Your fearless leader has chosen _me_ over you. But who says that I still want him?"   
  
"If you hurt Dai..." Miyako hissed.   
  
"So what if I have?" the ruler shrugged. "He's lost his usefulness...unless it's as a hostage."   
  
"I'm not good as a hostage unless you can _catch_ me, Kaizer." Motomiya Daisuke himself appeared from the forest behind the Kaizer. Chibimon was nowhere to be seen.   
  
"A bluff!" Hikari gasped.   
  
"I can handle him, guys." Daisuke walked up to the Kaizer. "Ken-chan...I heard what you said. You think I'm useless?"   
  
The Kaizer for once looked taken aback. "D-Dai-chan...I didn't mean..."   
  
"So, you're saying that you'd reformat me along with the Digital World?"   
  
"Dai!" Miyako's mouth dropped open in shock.   
  
"N-no...stop it, Daisuke, I can't..."   
  
Daisuke pouted, stepping closer and winding his arms around the slender boy's waist. "Ken-chan..."   
  
The Kaizer grimaced.   
  
Continuing his mournful monolgue, Daisuke rested his head against the purple-and-white spandex of his ex-lover's bodysuit. "You used me...I can't beleive I fell for it..."   
  
To the shock of the spectators, the Kaizer lowered his defenses and wrapped his arms around Daisuke. "That's not it. I wanted...I needed..."   
  
Hikari was in tears again. "No...not Daisuke too..."   
  
Daisuke moved his arms to Ken's neck, bringing their lips together. When he broke the kiss a few seconds later he moved his hands to clasp Ken's triceps, staring him in the eyes. "I guess I'll be okay."   
  
"I didn't do it to hurt you," the Kaizer whispered.   
  
Daisuke's next words, however, revealed that he was on a different mindtrack altogether. "There was someone else, and I really can't fault you."   
  
The Kaizer looked stunned. "You--"   
  
Dai nodded. "How narccistic of you, Ken-chan...but it wasn't your fault."   
  
"Someone _else?_" the former ruler looked incredoulous.   
  
"Oh yes, and I know exactly who it was too. Of course, I can't blame you, I'm in love with him as well."   
  
The Kaizer's face turned hard and cold. "W-what?"   
  
Daisuke's smile was humorless. "And I'll kill you to get him back."   
  
The Kaizer attempted to wrench away, but Daisuke's grip was like steel. "Ken--"   
  
From above came the voice of Ichijouji Ken--the original. "Right here, bastard."   
  
  
  
-----------------------  
Shi-chan: One chapter to go! I promise, this time! 


	18. And I Wonder Why You Left Me

Digimon belongs to Toei! *sob*   
  
---------------------------  
Shi-chan: Last chapter. *sniffle* Hope everyone enjoyed the story!  
---------------------------  
  
Sadness-Colored Sandglass  
Part 18  
~By Shimegami-chan  
  
Warnings: Kensuke! Yay! And just a touch of profane language in this chapter. ^^;;   
  
  
  
  
  
"Ken!" The Chosen all looked up to see the Child of Kindness silhouetted in the moonlight, smirking down at the Kaizer. Daisuke held the ex-emperor's wrists tightly. "Nice of you to join us, Ken-chan. Imperialdramon?"   
  
The Digimon in question stepped out of the shadowy forest and wrapped his huge claws around the Kaizer. "You're not going anywhere until we get some answers!"   
  
The other children were still in shock. "There's...two of them," Hikari breathed.   
  
No one replied. Ken vaulted from his Jogressed Digimon's shoulder to the ground, enfolding Daisuke in a tender hug. Imperialdramon picked up the kicking Kaizer and stared at him, pleased.   
  
"Careful how you hold him," Ken warned. "We still don't know what kind of power he might possess."   
  
"Excuse me, I think we're still missing something." Miyako voiced what the whole group had been thinking of.   
  
Ken turned, shamefaced, to look at his friends. "It's a long, long story, Miya-chan. One that I'm not entirely sure I understand...but we'll get our answers soon enough, I hope."   
  
"But you're the real Ken?"   
  
Takeru posed the question and Ken nodded in reply. "The original, and I'm sorry for the trouble you guys have had because of me. This is all my fault."   
  
"You don't know that, Ken." Daisuke glared at his koibito. "Just because he happens to look like you doesn't mean that it's your fault."   
  
"Ah, but it is." All heads turned to face the Kaizer, who had ceased struggling in Paildramon's grip. "You want the truth? Fine. Knowing the truth isn't going to get rid of _me._   
  
"I was created as a product of the Digital World. Not Digimon, and yet not human--but pure darkness." A twisted smile graced his royal lips. "I was created from _that._"   
  
_That_ referred to the Dark D-3 that Daisuke currently held. Dai looked surprised. "You came from a D-3?"   
  
Ken gasped in shock. "But that's--" He trailed off, one hand going to his hip, where the lavender Digivice was clipped to his belt. "That's my--"   
  
"It _was_ yours." The Kaizer cut him off. "You and your soft ways, Ken! The first time you held that Crest of yours you must have thought about what you were giving up. The Dark Power within you absolutely could _not_ allow you to become the pathetic weakling you are now. You were infected with it, and you should have _stayed_ infected."   
  
"What happened?" Ken asked, his throat dry.   
  
"You and your stupid Kindness. Your Dark Seed stayed active even after you returned to normal life--it was simply waiting for you to return to what you were meant to be. To be _me_, Ken." The fallen Kaizer assumed a look of defiance. "Look what you sacrificed! And for what!? Friends? Love? Normality? You could have it all. I had just as easy a time getting Daisuke as you did--and I'm everything you--"   
  
The ex-Kaizer reeled as Daisuke punched him in the jaw. "You bastard!" Ken looked about two steps behind. "Anything that ever happened with you happened because I thought you were Ken. So watch what you say."   
  
Takeru ran to Daisuke's side. "Calm down, Dai." Daisuke looked miffed, but feel silent.   
  
"There's nothing more to say. You renounced your Dark Power, and your D-3 began to cleanse itself. It separated the Dark Power from the Crest power and replicated itself in the Dark D-3, and I was born from that power. And," he looked smugly at Ken, "from _your_ inability to live up to your Crest."   
  
"Me?" Ken whispered.   
  
The Kaizer grinned. "It's your fault, Ken-chan."   
  
"Don't listen to him!" Hikari cried. "You heard what he said. It was the Dark Power that created this...this _thing!_"   
  
"Ken-chan couldn't handle his own feelings," the Kaizer said in a singsong voice. "'Oh! Whatever shall I do? I'm afraid to love Daisuke, and I'm afraid of myself. I don't want to be eeeevil.' Pathe--ai!" He let out a little squeal as Imperialdramon's grip tightened.   
  
"Wormmon!" Ken scolded weakly.   
  
"That's not what happened!" Stingmon's voice was angry. "You were careful, Ken-chan! You were right!"   
  
"Maybe," Ken sighed. "Nonetheless, my inability to take control of myself resulted in _this._"   
  
"But your Crest was what drove the evil out, Ken. It's better off out here where we can fight it, than inside where it could destroy you." Hikari looked sad.   
  
"Your damned Kindness kept saving you." The Kaizer had regained his ability to speak. "It fought me off for a _long_ time. Especially when it used your brother."   
  
Ken blinked. "The dreams."   
  
Daisuke turned to his lover. "Dreams?"   
  
"I had dreams where Osamu came to me, and sometimes you too, Dai...telling me to trust you, and my powers of Kindness. I had a lot of dreams where I turned into the Kaizer again."   
  
"So close," the fallen dictator cursed.   
  
Ken slid the D-3 from his belt and stared at it. "So this was the real thing after all." The Crest of Kindness flickered on the screen, glowing softly.   
  
"And that's it." The Kaizer grinned manacingly. "I'm not going anywhere, Ken-chan--and you and your pacifist friends don't _dare_ kill me. So what are you going to do?"   
  
Daisuke's mouth dropped open. "He's right, Imperialdramon can't sit here holding him for the rest of our lives."   
  
"Not that it would matter," Ken said grimly. "He's indulging us. He could escape at any time."   
  
"What?" Iori turned in shock. "You think he could take on Imperialdramon?"   
  
"Oh, no. He can shapechange. Aren't I right, Kaizer?" Ken looked at his counterpart.   
  
The Kaizer was nonchalant. "That's correct."   
  
"Well, how are we supposed to get rid of him, then?" Daisuke demanded.   
  
"Maybe we could take him to the Dark Ocean," Miyako suggested.   
  
Hikari looked doubtful. "I don't know about that."   
  
Takeru grimaced. "We certainly can't leave him here alone."   
  
"I'll take care of him," Ken said quietly. "He's my responsibility."   
  
Daisuke gripped Ken's hand. "How?"   
  
"My Kindness is stronger than his darkness. We just never knew what we were up against. We still don't--correct?"   
  
The Kaizer smiled almost wistfully. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."   
  
"Well then, let's bring them out." Ken strode up to his double and removed the dark sunglasses, throwing them to the sandy earth.   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
  
Light burned brightly about the two dark heads, the rising sun reflecting in the sunglasses and the goggles atop Daisuke's mahogany hair. The new Chosen hung back fascinated as the two Kens faced off against each other. Daisuke held the Black D-3 in the palm of his gloved hand, watching it. Something was happening to the Digivice; he was sure, but what? A red light had been flashing on the screen, but it had turned white once Ken had removed the Kaizer's glasses. The Crest of Kindness was on the screen, not unlike the rose image that Ken's D-3 was displaying as well. Daisuke wanted to call out to Ken and note the anamoly, but his friend was currently in what looked to be a staring contest with his enemy. Violet met violet and a hard stare met forgiveness, but Ken did not turn away.   
  
"Ah, you haven't fogotten that. Clever Ken-chan. But to look me in the eyes!" The violet orbs burned into Ken's own, and the young genius felt himself start to lose control. "That was rather foolhardy of you."   
  
"Your sadness will be the color of the sandglass." Ken steeled himself, his D-3 clutched tightly in his fist.   
  
The Kaizer's eyes widened.   
  
"What does it mean, Kaizer? I know you know. So cryptic! It's your style, and yet that was the advice Osamu gave me."   
  
"It doesn't mean anything."   
  
"Liar."   
  
"Don't do this, Ken-chan. I loved you."   
  
Ken laughed. "You must be kidding me. You seduced me, you hypnotized me. You _are_ me. What can you possibly mean by that?"   
  
"I want to be you again, Ken. I want to be what we were before. Whole. Together."   
  
"Forget it."   
  
The Kaizer broke his gaze.   
  
The world around Ken became irrelevant; the trees rustling, Iori's angry whispers, and Daisuke's pleas. Nothing mattered. He didn't even notice when Imperialdramon released their captive, devolving back into Leafmon and Chicomon.   
  
Nothing mattered except himself and the Kaizer and the silent communication that was happening between them.   
  
_I loved you.   
  
I'm sorry.   
  
Please, Ken-chan...come with me?   
  
_"No," he said aloud. "I don't need you any more."   
  
The regal face crumpled at that simple statement. "I need you."   
  
Ken would not budge. "You can't control me any more, can you? You don't have power over me any more."   
  
"Ken-chan..."   
  
"_No._"   
  
Both D-3s began emitting light, one a royal purple, the other rose-pink. Daisuke stepped forward with the Black D-3. "Ken?"   
  
Ken took the device and held it in his hand before offering it to the Kaizer, closing his gloved fingers over the black object. "I don't need you anymore."   
  
On contact, the Kaizer began to glow purple as well, staring down at the device in his hand. His body began to dissipate, shimmering and flowing; and he turned those imploring violet eyes towards Ken once more.   
  
"I understand you," Ken said gently. "I understand now."   
  
The Kaizer nodded.   
  
With that, the Black D-3 consumed its owner, sucking the ex-emperor into the LCD screen as though it were a digital gate. Daisuke stared at the thing in disbelief.   
  
"I understand you," Ken whispered again, before blacking out and crumpling to the sand.   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
  
"So it's been the Kaizer all along."   
  
"Yes." Ken stared into his drink, eyes downcast. "I don't know how long I was trapped in the fortress for, since he kept me hypnotized a lot of the time."   
  
Takeru leaned against his kitchen counter, where Tokomon was tearing into a bag of cookies. "It must have been hard."   
  
Miyako looked pleased. "But it was him that sent that Rosemon, and got angry when Wormmon wouldn't evolve, right?"   
  
"Yes." Memories of what he had done while under the Kaizer's control--unleashing the fortress' power on the Monochromon and making it evolve and attack Daisuke--had returned to Ken, but the young genius chose not to share them. It was better that the blame lay on the Kaizer rather than explain the jealousy that had affected his already-clouded mind.   
  
Leafmon and Chicomon were sharing what was left of Daisuke's milk and cookies, an act that surprised all at the table. Daisuke usually ate _anything_ that came his way. "Is something wrong, Dai?"   
  
"Iie." the Chosen of Courage and Friendship addressed his boyfriend, but didn't meet Ken's eyes.   
  
Miyako and Hikari regarded each other before standing up at the same time. "Well, now that everything's back to normal, we should be getting home. Maybe I can get in before my parents wake up."   
  
"Right, my mother will be getting up soon too." Takeru looked embarassed.   
  
"I should explain to your parents why I snuck into your house at three a.m." Miyako touched Iori's shoulder and stood up. The younger boy nodded silently.   
  
"I'm going to get back into my pajamas." Takeru disappeared into the darkened hallway.   
  
The other three children excused themselves and quietly slipped out of the apartment, leaving Daisuke and Ken alone. Hikari threw Ken a wink as she left the table.   
  
"Dai-koi, what's on your mind?" Ken asked gently.   
  
"It bothers me that I didn't see through him," Daisuke said finally.   
  
Ken clasped his partner's hand. "Is that all? It couldn't be helped, Dai. He fooled everyone."   
  
"I noticed," Daisuke said miserably. "I noticed, and I talked it over with Taichi-sempai, and I didn't do anything. I thought you had just changed."   
  
"Don't blame yourself, Dai." Ken smiled and gently kissed his lover's tan-skinned hand. "It's over now, and I'm just glad to be back here with you."   
  
Daisuke grinned and hugged Ken tightly. "I'm glad too. Now what say we get you home before your parents get in a panic?"   
  
"Sure."  
  
The two boys said a quiet good-bye to Takeru and left the Takaishi apartment, taking the train to Tamachi. Daisuke brought Ken right up to the front door before kissing him good-bye, and the young genius unlocked the door and stepped inside. Leafmon bounced in and fled immediately to Ken's room.   
  
"Oh--Ken?" Daisuke paused as Ken moved to close the door.   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"Something about the Black D-3 I noticed...the Kaizer was fiddling with it while he was taunting the others, and you and me were still hiding in the woods..."   
  
"Hn."   
  
"He said it was going to reformat the Digital World, and it was beeping and flashing a red light."   
  
"Yes, I know."   
  
"Well...while you two were having your little moment of dominance, the Crest of Kindness came up on the screen, and the light turned white. Why did it do that? I thought it didn't hold your Crest power at all anymore."   
  
"It doesn't." Ken smiled sadly. "I guess...I guess that along with my Kaizer self, that D-3 also held the Ken I used to be."   
  
"I don't understand."   
  
"My old dreams, my ideals--my folly, my false beliefs. The appearance of the Kaizer is merely a costume--even then, I was still Ichijouji Ken, just one who was deluded and too ambitious. Those qualities are what made the Kaizer what he was--a person of extremes, who was out of control. His lust for power and the urge to hate and destroy were just as strong as his need for someone to love and care about him. That's why he needed you, and me."   
  
"And because he had that weakness is why he still had a little Kindness in him? That still doesn't make sense."   
  
"I know." Ken's expression was sombre. "I don't know this for sure, Daisuke. I'm speculating. I don't actually know what was going through the Kaizer's head, and I don't know how or why he was created. He was born from the darkness within my D-3--and I guess since that D-3 was able to harness the power of my Crest every time I used it, it still had some of that power. I can only guess that that is why he was flawed."   
  
"You were flawed then too, Ken."   
  
"Yeah. I had these ideals...I really thought that I controlled the Digital World, and that it was mine to do with as I pleased."   
  
Daisuke's eyes closed. "And that's why he thought he could reformat it? Because he thought the same way you did."   
  
"Yeah."   
  
They were both silent for a moment, before Ken gently touched his palm to his lover's cheek. "I should go before I wake Mama and Papa."   
  
"All right. See you later, Ken. I...I love you. I'm glad to have you back."   
  
"Me too, Dai. Me too."   
  
The door closed behind the Chosen of Courage, and Ken sank to his knees on the floor. "You're wrong, though...it's not the Kaizer's knowledge that was flawed. It was mine."   
  
He reached into his pocket and removed a small black and grey object, the screen lighting up with the touch of a button. "It was...impossible. I couldn't have formatted the Digital World using just my D-3, and neither could he." Although the Crest of Kindness no longer graced the screen of the device, Ken suspected that his theory of Kindness still lingering within it was true.   
  
"He was weak because of me," Ken whispered to himself, a tear escaping from one violet eye. "He _knew_ that I would overpower him, and he let himself be sucked back into the Black D-3. Why?" There weren't any answers, and too many questions. He suspected that Osamu's warnings referred to his D-3's metamorphosis, but he couldn't be sure--it was the darkness and depression he was feeling that had caused the change in the Black D-3. Its violet could have signified the Kaizer's dangerous indigo eyes. 'Sandglass' could have referred to the hourglass he was kept in by the Kaizer, or the sandy desert that Rosemon had challenged them on. Perhaps Osamu's message had just been garbled--Ken would never know, and the only person who understood Ken's situation was sealed in the D-3.   
  
Standing on shaky legs, Ken returned to his room, where Leafmon was already asleep on the bed. The Black D-3 looked small and powerless now, even though Ken know that the Dark Power still lay within it. He was sure of it now--the command the Kaizer had input into the device hadn't been to reformat at all, but to release the Crest power still within the D-3. It couldn't have been to make Wormmon evolve, Ken decided, although if he'd tried that trick while fighting Rosemon it might actually have worked. And it wasn't to destroy the Digital World or call on one of the Spiraled Digimon he still controlled.   
  
The only reason to trigger the device would have been to release the Kindness still left in it, thus disrupting the Dark Power and disabling his ability to _exist_ outside of the Device. He had allowed himself to return to the D-3, and the Kaizer wasn't stupid--he knew it, and Ken knew it, and he _knew_ Ken knew it.   
  
_It's because you understood me, Ken._   
  
The voice existed only in Ken's head, but he knew the words were true. "I didn't need to be him anymore, and he knew it. I don't need to be him ever again."   
  
_That's my Ken-chan._   
  
His mind finally at ease, Ken placed his lavender-and-white D-3 on the desktop and smiled sadly before sliding the Black D-3 into a drawer. "I'm sorry," he said aloud, "but I don't need your power any more."   
  
He shut the drawer with satisfaction. "And I won't need you ever again."   
  
  
  
  
~owari!  
  
  
  
-------------------------  
Shi-chan: Wow! If that just wasn't the most stress-inducing story I've _ever_ written!  
Seki: And we loved every minute of it. ^^;;  
Shi-chan: I'm quite sad to see it end, but I hope I did the ending justice. It really was the hardest thing I ever had to write.  
Ken: I'm saved! Hooray!  
Seki: And on to the next Kensuke! Just two to go. ^_~ Expect more 'Tomodachi' and 'Love Is' soon!  
Shi-chan: As for 'Sandglass,' I guess you know me well enough to expect a quick follow-up. If there are any loose ends left for me to write about. ^^;;  
Seki: Either way, we'd like to thank a few people. First, Rahene, who put up with _so_ much bitching about this story (and about Digimon in general) over the Easter break that I spent in Toronto.  
Shi-chan: Second, to Zippo, for being there--and for actually reading this thing even though you disliked Kensuke. I knew I'd convert you eventually. ^_~  
Seki: Third, to Athena, for miraculously reading and reviewing practically everything I write. I don't know how you do it, girl, but you always know the right thing to say to spur me on to the next chapter.   
Shi-chan: Last but not least, there were a lot of authors who continued to support this fic when the Alerts were first taken away and I was afraid that no one would read it, and many who reviewed with helpful comments and criticism. Gaia Lao, ShiniJekka, Quatre's Girl, Ashna, Quatre Bunny; and many many more that I can't name, you really know how to boost a girl's ego. Please keep reading and best of luck with your own fics. ^_^  
Seki: And that's it's....OWARI!  
Ken & Daisuke: *cheer*  
Seki & Shi: *bawl*  
Quatre: *holds up a sign* 'end!'  
  
  
At the address below you can download the GW peice "Sadness-Colored Sandglass," that was the inspiration for this story. Enjoy!  
http://kuroitenshi.digitalrice.com/conan/sandglass.mp3 


End file.
